Neopetrosia subtriangularis

{{Short description|Species of sponge}} {{Speciesbox | taxon = Neopetrosia subtriangularis | authority =(Duchassaing, 1850)<ref name="wpd"/> | synonyms_ref=<ref name="wpd">{{cite WoRMS | author = van Soest, R. | year = 2014 | title = ''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing, 1850) | id = 166814 | accessdate = 2014-05-22 | db = porifera }}</ref> |synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}} * ''Haliclona doria'' de Laubenfels, 1936 * ''Haliclona longleyi'' de Laubenfels, 1932 * ''Haliclona subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) * ''Neopetrosia longleyi'' (De Laubenfels, 1932) * ''Pachychalina rugosa'' (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) * ''Schmidtia aulopora'' Schmidt, 1870 * ''Spongia subtriangularis'' Duchassaing, 1850 * ''Thalysias rugosa'' Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 * ''Thalysias subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing, 1850) * ''Xestospongia subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing, 1850) {{hidden end}} }}

'''''Neopetrosia subtriangularis''''' is a species of marine petrosiid sponges native to the waters off Florida and the Caribbean Sea. They superficially resemble staghorn corals.

==Taxonomy== ''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' was originally described by the French naturalist Édouard Placide Duchassaing de Fontbressin in 1850 as ''Spongia subtriangularis''.<ref name="duch">{{cite book|first = Édouard Placide | last = Duchassaing de Fontbressin | author-link = Édouard Placide Duchassaing de Fontbressin | title = Animaux radiaires des Antilles|publisher =Plon Frères|year =1850|pages=1–35}}</ref> It is classified under the genus ''Neopetrosia'' of the family Petrosiidae in the order Haplosclerida.<ref name="wpd"/>

==Description== ''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' superficially resemble the staghorn coral (''Acropora cervicornis'') in appearance. They form clusters of interconnecting solid branches that tend to sprawl along the substrate (repent),<ref name="ld"/> though these branches may sometimes be solitary (arising from a flattened base) and erect.<ref name="sheppard">{{cite web|url=http://coralpedia.bio.warwick.ac.uk/en/sponges/xestospongia_subtriangularis.html|title=''Xestospongia subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing 1850)|first = Charles | last = Sheppard|publisher=Coralpedia v 1.0: A guide to Caribbean corals, octocorals and sponges, University of Warwick|access-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref>

The branches are brown, beige, yellow or orange in coloration on the external surfaces, though they may possess a greenish tinge. Internal surfaces are tan to off-white in coloration.<ref name="portol">{{cite web|url=http://www.nova.edu/ncri/sofla_sponge_guide/sp_96.html|title=''Xestospongia subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing 1850)|first1 = Charles G. | last1 = Messing | first2 = Purushotham V. | last2 = Bangalore | first3 = Maria Cristina | last3 = Diaz | first4 = Christopher J. | last4 = Freeman | first5 = Kevin E. | last5 = Kohler | first6 = John K. | last6 = Reed | first7 = Klaus | last7 = Ruetzler | first8 = Robert W. | last8 = Thacker | first9 = Rob | last9 = van Soest | first10 = Janie | last10 = Wulff | first11 = Sven | last11 = Zea|publisher=South Florida Sponges: A Guide to Identification, The Porifera Tree of Life Project|access-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref> They are usually around {{convert|28|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide and may be laterally flattened.<ref name="ld">{{cite web|url=http://porifera.lifedesks.org/pages/41386|title=''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing, 1850) |first = Chris | last = Freeman|publisher=LifeDesks|access-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref> In the Bahamas, the individual branches tend to be wider, around {{convert|3|to|5|cm|in|abbr=on}}, than in other areas where they average at {{convert|1|to|2|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="guide">{{cite web|url=http://www.spongeguide.org/speciesinfo.php?species=163|title=''Neopetrosia subtriangularis''| first1 = Sven | last1 = Zea | first2 = Timothy P. | last2 = Henkel | first3 = Joseph R. | last3 = Pawlik|date=2009|publisher=The Sponge Guide: a picture guide to Caribbean sponges, Universidad Nacional de Colombia|access-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref> They are hard in consistency, but are brittle and easily break off. The surface of the branches are smooth and flat.<ref name="portol"/>

The openings (oscules) are round and {{convert|2|to|4|mm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter, usually surrounded by a rim of paler colored (usually white or yellow) membrane. They may be located flush on the surface or elevated in small conical chimneys, around {{convert|1.3|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall. They are distributed regularly on the upper surface of the branches, forming neat rows. Individual oscules may sometimes fuse together to form a crest.<ref name="ld"/><ref name="portol"/> The spicules are curved cylinders, with pointed (oxea) or rounded (strongyloxea) tips at both ends.<ref name="portol"/>

==Ecology== ''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' are found in shallow reefs and seagrass beds at depths of greater than {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Especially in the turbid waters of sand channels.<ref name="smit">{{cite web|url=http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/bocas_database/search/species/65|title=''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' (Duchassaing, 1850)|first = M.C. | last = Diaz|publisher=Bocas del Toro: Species Database, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute|access-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref> They serve as hosts of colonies of the eusocial snapping shrimp in the genus ''Synalpheus''.<ref name="duffy2013">{{cite journal|first1 = J. Emmett | last1 = Duffy | first2 = Kenneth S. III | last2 = Macdonald | first3 = Kristin M. | last3 = Hultgren | first4 = Tin Chi Solomon | last4 = Chak | first5 = Dustin R. | last5 = Rubenstein |year=2013|title=Decline and Local Extinction of Caribbean Eusocial Shrimp |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=8|issue=2|article-number= e54637|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0054637| pmid=23418429 | pmc=3572134| doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="hultgren2011">{{cite journal| first1 = Kristin M. | last1 = Hultgren | first2 = Kenneth S. III | last2 = MacDonald | first3 = J. Emmett | last3 = Duffy|year=2011|title=Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: ''Synalpheus'') of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species|journal=Zootaxa|volume=2834 |pages=1–16| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.2834.1.1 |url=http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/37034/37034.pdf}}</ref>

==Distribution== ''Neopetrosia subtriangularis'' is found off the east and west coasts of Florida, the Bahamas, and throughout the entire Caribbean Sea.<ref name="ld"/><ref name="portol"/>

==References== {{Reflist|40em}}

Category:Haplosclerida Category:Sponges described in 1850