Abstract Abstract
Background
The checklist of Porifera of Greece was created in the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an initiative of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) that has resumed efforts to compile a complete checklist of species recorded from Greece. An updated checklist of Porifera was created on the basis of a list of the Aegean Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha published one decade ago. All records of species known to occur in Greek waters were taxonomically validated and cross-checked for possible inaccuracies and omissions. Then, all recent publications were reviewed and the species recorded from 2006 to date were added to the list.
New information
The updated checklist of Porifera of Greece comprises 215 species, classified to 111 genera, 65 families, 24 orders, and 4 classes. In total, 34 new additions were made to the previous species list (8 Calcarea, 17 Demospongiae, 1 Hexactinellida, and 6 Homoscleromorpha) with Calcarea being listed for the first time from the area. The demosponge orders Poecilosclerida, Dictyoceratida, Tetractinellida, Haplosclerida, and Suberitida have the highest number of species covering 62% of the known Greek sponge species richness. It is worth mentioning that 8 species have been first described from Greek waters, 7 of which are considered endemic to this area. Our bibliographic overview also revealed knowledge gaps with regard to specific habitats typically rich in sponge diversity, and marine sectors of Greece.
Keywords: Sponges, Demospongiae , Homoscleromorpha , Calcarea , Hexactinellida , Aegean Sea, Sea of Crete, Levantine Sea, Ionian Sea, Eastern Mediterranean
Introduction
The history of sponge science is directly linked to Greek civilization, since the older written references to sponges are found in Homer’s Epics, and their scientific knowledge has been established by the Greek philosopher, and first marine biologist, Aristotle in his zoological works (Voultsiadou 2007).
In modern times, research on Porifera of the Greek seas started early in the 20th century with the study of bath sponges, i.e., the members of the family Spongiidae (Szymanski 1904, Arndt 1937). In the subsequent decades, up to the 1980s, a series of scattered records of sponge species followed, which can be traced either in faunistic papers (Pérès and Picard 1958, Tortonese 1947) or in more general works on Porifera (Topsent 1920, Vacelet 1969, Griessinger 1971, Pulitzer-Finali 1983).
The systematic research on Greek Porifera started in the 1990s when the Laboratory of Zoology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, presented a series of publications on the Aegean sponge taxonomy, ecology and biogeography. New species were described (Voultsiadou-Koukoura and van Soest 1991a, Voultsiadou-Koukoura and van Soest 1991b, Voultsiadou-Koukoura et al. 1991), species lists presented (Voultsiadou-Koukoura and Koukouras 1993, Voultsiadou-Koukoura and van Soest 1993), and the associations of sponges with other invertebrates investigated (Koukouras et al. 1996 and references therein). A checklist of all Aegean sponge species reported up to 2005 and an overview of the relevant literature was provided by Voultsiadou (2005a) and followed by two publications on the distribution of Aegean and Levantine Porifera in the Mediterranean context (Voultsiadou 2005b, Voultsiadou 2009).
The recent study of sponges in the Greek seas comprises taxonomic accounts, including molecular works (Kefalas and Castritsi-Catharios 2007, Kefalas and Castritsi-Catharios 2012, Vacelet et al. 2008, Dailianis et al. 2011), faunistic and ecological papers (Voultsiadou et al. 2010, Voultsiadou et al. 2011, Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou 2012, Bianchi et al. 2014), and records of species in publications focusing on particular sponge taxa (Ereskovsky et al. 2009).
The aforementioned literature addresses mainly the classes Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha. No research on Hexactinellida of the Greek seas has been carried out (but see Boury-Esnault et al. 2014), while few species of Calcarea have been recorded mostly in general faunistic publications (e.g. Pansini et al. 2000, Gerovasileiou et al. 2015).
The aim of the present work was to present an updated, annotated checklist of Porifera of the Greek seas. For this purpose, older lists of the classes Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha were updated according to the recent literature and taxonomic status, and a first attempt to provide a catalogue of Calcarea was made.
Materials and methods
The Checklist of Porifera of Greece (Suppl. material 1) was created in the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an initiative of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) that has resumed efforts to compile a complete checklist of all species reported from Greece (Bailly et al. 2016). In that publication, a methodology is described to produce Preliminary Checklists only. However, in the present case of Porifera, the status of the list for Greece was quite advanced, and the recent primary literature was exhaustively searched for this work: the present list is thus considered as an updated, annotated, and archived checklist.
The checklist of Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha was constructed based on a previous inclusive list of the Aegean sponges published by Voultsiadou (2005a). A cross-checking of all species names was carried out and some names were updated according to the World Porifera Database (WPD) (Van Soest et al. 2016) which is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) initiative (WoRMS Editorial Board 2016). Four species [i.e. Cerbaris curvispiculifer (Carter, 1880), Oceanapia fistulosa (Bowerbank, 1873), Petrosia (Strongylophora) vansoesti Boury-Esnault, Pansini & Uriz, 1994, and Pseudosuberites hyalinus (Ridley & Dendy, 1886)] were deleted because their Mediterranean records have been considered invalid according to the WPD. Nine of the species mentioned in that list [i.e. Acarnus tortilis Topsent, 1892, Clathria (Clathria) coralloides (Scopoli, 1772), Cliona vermifera Hancock, 1867, Cliothosa hancocki (Topsent, 1888), Holoxea furtiva Topsent, 1892, Lissodendoryx (Anomodoryx) cavernosa (Topsent, 1892), Placospongia decorticans (Hanitsch, 1895), Rhabderemia topsenti van Soest & Hooper, 1993, and Timea mixta (Topsent, 1896)] were not included in the present checklist, since they have been to date reported only from the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea, but not from the Greek waters. Then, all recent publications were reviewed and the species recorded from 2006 to date have been added to the list. The records of freshwater species from Greece were derived from the catalogue published by Pronzato and Manconi (2001).
Checklists
Checklist of Porifera known to occur in Greek waters
CALCAREA
BAERIDA
Petrobionidae
Petrobiona massiliana
Vacelet & Lévi, 1958
CLATHRINIDA
Clathrinidae
Clathrina clathrus
(Miklucho-Maclay, 1868)
Clathrina blanca
(Schmidt, 1864)
Leucettidae
Leucetta solida
(Schmidt, 1862)
LEUCOSOLENIDA
Grantiidae
Leucandra nausicaae
(Schuffner, 1877)
Sycettidae
Sycon elegans
(Bowerbank, 1845)
Sycon faulkneri
Ilan, Gugel, Galil & Janussen, 2003
Sycon raphanus
Schmidt, 1862
DEMOSPONGIAE
AGELASIDA
Agelasidae
Agelas oroides
(Schmidt, 1864)
Hymerhabdiidae
Hymerhabdia intermedia
Sarà & Siribelli, 1960
Prosuberites longispinus
Topsent, 1893
AXINELLIDA
Axinellidae
Axinella cannabina
(Esper, 1794)
Axinella damicornis
(Esper, 1794)
Axinella polypoides
Schmidt, 1862
Axinella verrucosa
(Esper, 1794)
Heteroxyidae
Didiscus stylifer
Tsurnamal, 1969
Myrmekioderma spelaeum
(Pulitzer-Finali, 1983)
Raspailiidae
Eurypon cinctum
Sarà, 1960
Eurypon clavatum
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Eurypon coronula
(Bowerbank, 1874)
Eurypon major
Sarà & Siribelli, 1960
Raspaciona aculeata
(Johnston, 1842)
Raspailia (Raspailia) viminalis
Schmidt, 1862
Stelligeridae
Paratimea pierantonii
(Sarà, 1958)
Stelligera stuposa
(Ellis & Solander, 1786)
BUBARIDA
Dictyonellidae
Acanthella acuta
Schmidt, 1862
Dictyonella incisa
(Schmidt, 1880)
Dictyonella marsilii
(Topsent, 1893)
Dictyonella obtusa
(Schmidt, 1862)
Dictyonella plicata
(Schmidt, 1880)
CHONDRILLIDA
Chondrillidae
Chondrilla nucula
Schmidt, 1862
Thymosiopsis cuticulatus
Vacelet & Perez, 1998
Halisarcidae
Halisarca dujardinii
Johnston, 1842
CHONDROSIIDA
Chondrosiidae
Chondrosia reniformis
Nardo, 1847
CLIONAIDA
Clionaidae
Cliona celata
Grant, 1826
Cliona parenzani
Corriero & Scalera-Liaci, 1997
Cliona rhodensis
Rützler & Bromley, 1981
Cliona schmidtii
(Ridley, 1881)
Cliona thoosina
Topsent, 1888
Cliona viridis
(Schmidt, 1862)
Spiroxya heteroclita
Topsent, 1896
Spirastrellidae
Diplastrella bistellata
(Schmidt, 1862)
Diplastrella ornata
Rützler & Sarà, 1962
Spirastrella cunctatrix
Schmidt, 1868
DENDROCERATIDA
Darwinellidae
Aplysilla rosea
(Barrois, 1876)
Dendrilla acantha
Vacelet, 1958
Dictyodendrillidae
Spongionella pulchella
(Sowerby, 1804)
DESMACELLIDA
Desmacellidae
Desmacella annexa
Schmidt, 1870
Desmacella inornata
(Bowerbank, 1866)
DICTYOCERATIDA
Dysideidae
Dysidea avara
(Schmidt, 1862)
Dysidea fragilis
(Montagu, 1814)
Dysidea incrustans
(Schmidt, 1862)
Dysidea tupha
(Martens, 1824)
Pleraplysilla spinifera
(Schulze, 1879)
Irciniidae
Ircinia dendroides
(Schmidt, 1862)
Ircinia oros
(Schmidt, 1864)
Ircinia paucifilamentosa
Vacelet, 1961
Ircinia retidermata
Pulitzer-Finali & Pronzato, 1981
Ircinia variabilis
(Schmidt, 1862)
Ircinia vestibulata
(Szymanski, 1904)
Sarcotragus foetidus
Schmidt, 1862
Sarcotragus pipetta
(Schmidt, 1868)
Sarcotragus spinosulus
Schmidt, 1862
Spongiidae
Coscinoderma sporadense
Voultsiadou-Koukoura, van Soest & Koukouras, 1991
Hippospongia communis
(Lamarck, 1814)
Spongia (Spongia) lamella
(Schulze, 1879)
Spongia (Spongia) nitens
(Schmidt, 1862)
Spongia (Spongia) officinalis
Linnaeus, 1759
Spongia (Spongia) virgultosa
(Schmidt, 1868)
Spongia (Spongia) zimocca
Schmidt, 1862
Thorectidae
Cacospongia mollior
Schmidt, 1862
Fasciospongia cavernosa
(Schmidt, 1862)
Hyrtios collectrix
(Schulze, 1880)
Scalarispongia scalaris
(Schmidt, 1862)
HAPLOSCLERIDA
Callyspongiidae
Callyspongia septimaniensis
Griessinger, 1971
Siphonochalina expansa
Sarà, 1960
Chalinidae
Dendroxea lenis
(Topsent, 1892)
Haliclona (Gellius) dubia
(Babic, 1922)
Haliclona (Gellius) fibulata
(Schmidt, 1862)
Haliclona (Gellius) microsigma
(Babic, 1922)
Haliclona (Halichoclona) fulva
(Topsent, 1893)
Haliclona (Halichoclona) perlucida
(Griessinger, 1971)
Haliclona (Haliclona) simulans
(Johnston, 1842)
Haliclona (Reniera) aquaeductus
(Schmidt, 1862)
Haliclona (Reniera) cinerea
(Grant, 1826)
Haliclona (Reniera) cratera
(Schmidt, 1862)
Haliclona (Reniera) mediterranea
Griessinger, 1971
Haliclona (Reniera) subtilis
Griessinger, 1971
Haliclona (Rhizoniera) rhizophora
(Vacelet, 1969)
Haliclona (Rhizoniera) sarai
(Pulitzer-Finali, 1969)
Haliclona (Soestella) implexa
(Schmidt, 1868)
Haliclona (Soestella) mamillata
(Griessinger, 1971)
Haliclona (Soestella) mucosa
(Griessinger, 1971)
Niphatidae
Pachychalina rustica
Schmidt, 1868
Petrosiidae
Petrosia (Petrosia) clavata
(Esper, 1794)
Petrosia (Petrosia) ficiformis
(Poiret, 1789)
Petrosia pulitzeri
Pansini, 1996
Phloeodictyidae
Calyx nicaeensis
(Risso, 1826)
MERLIIDA
Hamacanthidae
Hamacantha (Vomerula) falcula
(Bowerbank, 1874)
Merliidae
Merlia normani
Kirkpatrick, 1908
POECILOSCLERIDA
Coelosphaeridae
Forcepia (Leptolabis) luciensis
(Topsent, 1888)
Lissodendoryx (Lissodendoryx) isodictyalis
(Carter, 1882)
Crambeidae
Crambe crambe
(Schmidt, 1862)
Crellidae
Crella (Pytheas) fusifera
Sarà, 1969
Crella (Pytheas) sigmata
Topsent, 1925
Esperiopsidae
Ulosa stuposa
(Esper, 1794)
Ulosa tenellula
Pulitzer-Finali, 1983
Hymedesmiidae
Hemimycale columella
(Bowerbank, 1874)
Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) pansa
Bowerbank, 1882
Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) peachii
Bowerbank, 1882
Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) simillima
Lundbeck, 1910
Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) versicolor
(Topsent, 1893)
Phorbas fictitius
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Phorbas posidoni
Voultsiadou-Koukoura & van Soest, 1991
Phorbas tenacior
(Topsent, 1925)
Phorbas topsenti
Vacelet & Perez, 2008
Microcionidae
Antho (Antho) involvens
(Schmidt, 1864)
Clathria (Clathria) toxistricta
Topsent, 1925
Clathria (Clathria) toxistyla
(Sarà, 1959)
Clathria (Clathria) toxivaria
(Sarà, 1959)
Clathria (Microciona) cleistochela
(Topsent, 1925)
Clathria (Microciona) gradalis
Topsent, 1925
Clathria (Thalysias) jolicoeuri
(Topsent, 1892)
Echinoclathria translata
(Pulitzer-Finali, 1978)
Mycalidae
Mycale (Aegogropila) contarenii
(Lieberkühn, 1859)
Mycale (Aegogropila) retifera
Topsent, 1924
Mycale (Aegogropila) rotalis
(Bowerbank, 1874)
Mycale (Aegogropila) syrinx
(Schmidt, 1862)
Mycale (Aegogropila) tunicata
(Schmidt, 1862)
Mycale (Carmia) macilenta
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Mycale (Mycale) lingua
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Mycale (Mycale) massa
(Schmidt, 1862)
Mycale (Paresperella) serrulata
Sarà & Siribelli, 1960
Myxillidae
Myxilla (Myxilla) rosacea
(Lieberkühn, 1859)
Tedaniidae
Tedania (Tedania) anhelans
(Vio in Olivi, 1792)
POLYMASTIIDA
Polymastiidae
Tentorium levantinum
Ilan, Gugel, Galil & Janussen, 2003
Weberella verrucosa
Vacelet, 1960
SCOPALINIDA
Scopalinidae
Scopalina lophyropoda
Schmidt, 1862
SPONGILLIDA
Spongillidae
Ephydatia fluviatilis
(Linnaeus, 1759)
Eunapius carteri
(Bowerbank, 1863)
SUBERITIDA
Halichondriidae
Axinyssa aurantiaca
(Schmidt, 1864)
Axinyssa michaelis
Kefalas & Castritsi-Catharios, 2007
Halichondria (Halichondria) contorta
(Sarà, 1961)
Halichondria (Halichondria) panicea
(Pallas, 1766)
Hymeniacidon perlevis
(Montagu, 1814)
Laminospongia subtilis
Pulitzer-Finali, 1983
Spongosorites flavens
Pulitzer-Finali, 1983
Spongosorites intricatus
(Topsent, 1892)
Topsentia vaceleti
Kefalas & Castritsi-Catharios, 2012
Stylocordylidae
Stylocordyla pellita
(Topsent, 1904)
Suberitidae
Aaptos aaptos
(Schmidt, 1864)
Aaptos papillata
(Keller, 1880)
Protosuberites denhartogi
van Soest & de Kluijver, 2003
Protosuberites ectyoninus
(Topsent, 1900)
Protosuberites rugosus
(Topsent, 1893)
Pseudosuberites sulphureus
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Rhizaxinella pyrifera
(Delle Chiaje, 1828)
Rhizaxinella shikmonae
Ilan, Gugel, Galil & Janussen, 2003
Suberites carnosus
(Johnston, 1842)
Suberites domuncula
(Olivi, 1792)
Suberites ficus
(Johnston, 1842)
Suberites massa
Nardo, 1847
Suberites syringella
(Schmidt, 1868)
Terpios gelatinosa
(Bowerbank, 1866)
TETHYIDA
Hemiasterellidae
Hemiasterella aristoteliana
Voultsiadou-Koukoura & van Soest, 1991
Tethyidae
Tethya aurantium
(Pallas, 1766)
Tethya citrina
Sarà & Melone, 1965
Timeidae
Timea chondrilloides
(Topsent, 1904)
Timea geministellata
Pulitzer-Finali, 1978
Timea stellata
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Timea stellifasciata
Sarà & Siribelli, 1960
Timea unistellata
(Topsent, 1892)
TETRACTINELLIDA
Ancorinidae
Dercitus (Stoeba) plicatus
(Schmidt, 1868)
Jaspis johnstonii
(Schmidt, 1862)
Stelletta dorsigera
Schmidt, 1864
Stelletta grubii
Schmidt, 1862
Stelletta hispida
(Buccich, 1886)
Stelletta mediterranea
(Topsent, 1893)
Stelletta stellata
Topsent, 1893
Stryphnus (Stryphnus) mucronatus
(Schmidt, 1868)
Stryphnus (Stryphnus) ponderosus
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Azoricidae
Leiodermatium (Leiodermatium) lynceus
Schmidt, 1870
Calthropellidae
Calthropella (Calthropella) pathologica
(Schmidt, 1868)
Calthropella (Corticellopsis) stelligera
(Schmidt, 1868)
Geodiidae
Erylus discophorus
(Schmidt, 1862)
Geodia conchilega
Schmidt, 1862
Geodia cydonium
(Jameson, 1811)
Penares euastrum
(Schmidt, 1868)
Penares helleri
(Schmidt, 1864)
Pachastrellidae
Pachastrella monilifera
Schmidt, 1868
Samidae
Samus anonymus
Gray, 1867
Tetillidae
Craniella cranium
(Müller, 1776)
Theneidae
Thenea muricata
(Bowerbank, 1858)
Theonellidae
Discodermia polymorpha
Pisera & Vacelet, 2011
Thoosidae
Alectona millari
Carter, 1879
Vulcanellidae
Poecillastra compressa
(Bowerbank, 1866)
Vulcanella gracilis
(Sollas, 1888)
VERONGIIDA
Aplysinidae
Aplysina aerophoba
(Nardo, 1833)
Aplysina cavernicola
(Vacelet, 1959)
Ianthellidae
Hexadella pruvoti
Topsent, 1896
Hexadella racovitzai
Topsent, 1896
HEXACTINELLIDA
LYSSACINOSIDA
Rossellidae
Sympagella nux
Schmidt, 1870
HOMOSCLEROMORPHA
HOMOSCLEROPHORIDA
Oscarellidae
Oscarella balibaloi
Pérez, Ivanisevic, Dubois, Pedel, Thomas, Tokina & Ereskovsky, 2011
Oscarella lobularis
(Schmidt, 1862)
Oscarella microlobata
Muricy, Boury-Esnault, Bézac & Vacelet, 1996
Oscarella tuberculata
(Schmidt, 1868)
Pseudocorticium jarrei
Boury-Esnault, Muricy, Gallissian & Vacelet, 1995
Plakinidae
Corticium candelabrum
Schmidt, 1862
Plakina bowerbanki
(Sarà, 1960)
Plakina dilopha
Schulze, 1880
Plakina monolopha
Schulze, 1880
Plakina trilopha
Schulze, 1880
Plakina weinbergi
Muricy, Boury-Esnault, Bézac & Vacelet, 1998
Plakinastrella copiosa
Schulze, 1880
Plakortis simplex
Schulze, 1880
Discussion
A total of 215 species, classified to 111 genera, 65 families, 24 orders, and 4 classes makes the updated checklist of Porifera of Greece. Demosponges and Homoscleromorpha make up the bulk of Porifera of Greece, while only 8 species of Calcarea are listed for the first time from the area. As it can be seen from the list, the orders Poecilosclerida, Dictyoceratida, Tetractinellida, Haplosclerida, and Suberitida have the highest number of species comprising 62% of the known Greek sponge species richness.
The majority of species included in the present checklist were already known as elements of the Greek fauna (Voultsiadou 2005a), while 34 new additions were made in the course of this study (Table 1). These additions include 8 species of Calcarea, 17 species of Demospongiae, 1 species of Hexactinellida, and 6 species of Homoscleromorpha. Two more, freshwater species, Ephydatia fluviatilis and Eunapius carteri, were also added as elements of the Greek fauna.
Table 1.
Marine sponge species added by the present study (not included in the list given by Voultsiadou 2005a). For each species the publication mentioning its occurrence in the Greek seas is given.
| Species | References |
| Class Calcarea | |
| Clathrina blanca (Miklucho-Maclay, 1868) | Longo and Pronzato (2011) |
| Clathrina clathrus (Schmidt, 1864) | Gerovasileiou et al. (2015) |
| Leucandra nausicaae (Schuffner, 1877) | Burton (1963) |
| Leucetta solida (Schmidt, 1862) | Pansini et al. (2000) |
| Sycon elegans (Bowerbank, 1845) | Gerovasileiou et al. (2015) |
| Sycon faulkneri Ilan, Gugel, Galil & Janussen, 2003 | Ilan et al. (2003) |
| Sycon raphanus Schmidt, 1862 | Tortonese (1947) |
| Petrobiona massiliana Vacelet & Lévi, 1958 | Hermans et al. (2009) |
| Class Demospongiae | |
| Axinyssa michaelis Kefalas & Castritsi-Catharios, 2007 | Kefalas and Castritsi-Catharios (2007) |
| Clathria (Clathria) toxistricta Topsent, 1925 | Voultsiadou et al. (2010) |
| Cliona parenzani Corriero & Scalera-Liaci, 1997 | Vacelet et al. (2008) |
| Forcepia (Leptolabis) luciensis (Topsent, 1888) | Voultsiadou et al. (2010) |
| Haliclona (Gellius) microsigma (Babic, 1922) | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Haliclona (Halichoclona) perlucida (Griessinger, 1971) | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Hexadella pruvoti Topsent, 1896 | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Hexadella racovitzai Topsent, 1896 | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) pansa Bowerbank, 1882 | Voultsiadou et al. (2010) |
| Hyrtios collectrix (Schulze, 1880) | Voultsiadou et al. (2010) |
| Ircinia retidermata Pulitzer-Finali & Pronzato, 1981 | Bianchi et al. (2014) |
| Petrosia pulitzeri Pansini, 1996 | Pansini (1996) |
| Protosuberites rugosus (Topsent, 1893) | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Rhizaxinella sikmonae Ilan, Gugel, Galil & Janussen, 2003 | Ilan et al. (2003) |
| Tentorium levantinum Ilan, Gugel, Galil & Janussen, 2003 | Ilan et al. (2003) |
| Thymosiopsis cuticulatus Vacelet & Perez, 1998 | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Topsentia vaceleti Kefalas & Castritsi-Catharios, 2012 | Kefalas and Castritsi-Catharios (2012) |
| Class Hexactinellida | |
| Sympagella nux Schmidt, 1870 | See Boury-Esnault et al. (2014) |
| Class Homoscleromorpha | |
| Oscarella balibaloi Pérez et al., 2011 | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Oscarella microlobata Muricy et al., 1996 | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Oscarella tuberculata (Schmidt, 1868) | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Plakina bowerbanki (Sarà, 1960) | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
| Plakina weinbergi Muricy et al., 1998 | Ereskovsky et al. (2009) |
| Pseudocorticium jarrei Boury-Esnault et al., 1995 | Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou (2012) |
It is worth mentioning that 8 of the species included in the list (Axinyssa michaelis, Coscinoderma sporadense, Hemiasterella aristoteliana, Ircinia paucifilamentosa, Leucandra nausicaae, Petrosia pulitzeri, Phorbas posidoni, and Topsentia vaceleti) have been first described from Greek waters. All except one (P. pulitzeri) are considered endemic to this area, since they have not been yet reported elsewhere. A number of species, endemic to the eastern Mediterranean, have been also recorded in Greek waters, such as the deep-sea sponges Sycon faulkneri, Rhizaxinella shikmonae, and Tentorium levantinum, which were described from the Levantine, but were also recorded from the Sea of Crete and Sporades Basin by Ilan et al. (2003). Interestingly, most of the aforementioned species were found in dimly lit habitats which can be sponge-dominated (Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou 2012), such as marine caves, coralligenous beds, and the bathyal zone, highlighting the need for further research to reveal the unknown diversity in these environments.
The list of sponges of Greece compiled for the needs of the present study is the most comprehensive list of Porifera in the Eastern Mediterranean. There is another list presenting 131 sponge species from the Turkish coasts (Topaloğlu and Evcen 2014) and various scattered sources of information on the sponges of the remaining Levantine coasts (see Voultsiadou 2005b). However, a major gap of our knowledge on the sponge species richness from the Greek seas is obvious since practically the entire bibliography on Greek sponges concerns the Aegean Sea, while very few and scattered information is available from the Ionian coasts of Greece (e.g. Schuffner 1877, Laborel 1960). Finally, it should be mentioned that several species reported from the Turkish coasts of the Aegean have not been yet found in Greek waters. Given that both Turkish and Greek coasts are part of the broader ecoregion of the Aegean Archipelago (Spalding et al. 2007), it is reasonable to assume that it is a matter of time before these species are recorded as elements of the Greek fauna as well.
Supplementary Material
Checklist of Porifera of Greece
Eleni Voultsiadou, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Nicolas Bailly
Data type: Taxonomic checklist
Brief description: Taxonomic checklist of Porifera known to occur in Greek waters.
File: oo_98685.xls
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the LifeWatchGreece infrastructure (MIS 384676), funded by the Greek Government under the General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT), ESFRI Projects, National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). We would like to thank Thanos Dailianis for his constructive comments.
Funding Statement
LifeWatchGreece
Contributor Information
Eleni Voultsiadou, Email: elvoults@bio.auth.gr.
Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Email: vgerovas@hcmr.gr.
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Checklist of Porifera of Greece
Eleni Voultsiadou, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Nicolas Bailly
Data type: Taxonomic checklist
Brief description: Taxonomic checklist of Porifera known to occur in Greek waters.
File: oo_98685.xls