Sponges of the family Esperiopsidae (Demospongiae, Poecilosclerida) from Northwest Africa, with the descriptions of four new species

• Main Authors: Nicole J. de Voogd, Rob van Soest, Elly J. Beglinger
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Consortium of European Natural History Museums 2012-07-01
• Series: European Journal of Taxonomy
• Subjects: Sponges; new species; Esperiopsidae; Mauritania; Cape Verde Islands
• Online Access: http://www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/120

<p>Sponges belonging to the genera <em>Amphilectus</em> Vosmaer, <em>Esperiopsis</em> Carter and <em>Ulosa</em> de Laubenfels of the family Esperiopsidae were collected during 1986 and 1988 expeditions of the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis (at that time the National Museum of Natural History at Leiden and the Zoological Museum of Amsterdam) in waters off the coasts of Mauritania and the Cape Verde Islands. Four new species, <em>Amphilectus utriculus</em> sp. nov., <em>Amphilectus strepsichelifer</em> sp. nov., <em>Esperiopsis cimensis</em> sp. nov., <em>Ulosa capblancensis</em> sp. nov., and two already known species,<em> Amphilectus</em> cf. <em>fucorum</em> (Esper) and <em>Ulosa stuposa</em> (Esper) are described and discussed.</p>