TL;DR: Five species of tetillid sponges from deep waters of the Brazilian economic exclusive zone are described; three are new, one is a new occurrence, and another is a known species which is here analyzed.
Abstract: Since the 19th century the deep-sea sponges from Brazil have been studied and many of them are still being discovered. This study describes five species of tetillid sponges from deep waters of the Brazilian economic exclusive zone; three are new, one is a new occurrence, and another is a known species which is here analyzed. The new species found are: Cinachyrella clavaeformis sp. nov. from the Columbia Seamount (85 m depth), Cinachyrella strongylophora sp. nov. from the Almirante Saldanha Seamount (270 m depth) and Craniella curviclada sp. nov. from slope of the Espirito Santo Basin (500 m depth). The two new species of Cinachyrella possess microacanthoxeas like those found in Cinachyrella kuekenthali (Uliczka 1929); this last species occurs in Caribbean region (4-100 m depth) and in N, NE and SE Brazil (0.2-100 m depth). The type material of Craniella corticata (Boury-Esnault 1973); from NE Brazil (75 m depth), has been found to be a synonym of Cinachyrella kuekenthali. Craniella crustocorticata van Soest 2017; from the Guyana shelf and slope (618-500 m depth), is here reported from the slope of NE and SW Brazil (400-700 m depth). A disorganized choanosomal skeleton (in Cinachyrella clavaeformis sp. nov.), strongyles (in Cinachyrella strongylophora sp. nov.) and a single-layered cortex of tangential oxeas (in Craniella crustocorticata) are new diagnostic characters that have led us to propose slight amendments in the definitions of Cinachyrella Wilson 1925 and Craniella Schmidt 1870. We discuss these and other morphological characters as well as their usefulness in Tetillidae. The diversity, distribution and bathymetry of tetillid sponges from Brazil are discussed and our knowledge of the composition of deep-sea sponges (deeper than 100 m) off Brazil is updated.
Abstract: Several sponges from American Samoa, collected by the Coral Reef Research Foundation, Republic of Palau, were tentatively identified by one of us as Acanthotetilla cf seychellensis (Thomas 1973), due to the possession of relatively small acanthose oxeas, compared to those of other species of the genus Acanthotetilla Burton 1959. These sponges were later compared to Cinachyrella australiensis (Carter 1886), taking into account the lack of conspicuous spination on the acanthose oxeas and general features of spiculation and skeletal organisation. The specimens were later considered to represent a new species of the genus Cinachyrella Wilson 1925, after a careful comparison was made between the American Samoan specimens and C. australiensis which also contains small acanthose oxeas. Several recent molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed the generic assignment of one of the American Samoan specimens as belonging to Cinachyrella. Cinachyrella anatriaenilla sp. nov., described herein, is the fifth of 40 Cinachyrella spp. that contain lightly spined microacanthoxeas.
TL;DR: In this paper, the first hydroximino steroids derived from a natural source were described and verified using spectroscopic methods (NMR and MS) which were confirmed by synthesis.
TL;DR: Five species of Tetractinellida found in the Bocas del Toro archipelago of Panama are new to the Atlantic sponge fauna of Panama, one of which is new to science.
Abstract: Tetractinellida Marshall 1876 [Borchiellini et al. 2004] comprises the Orders Spirophorida and Astrophorida. A surveyof their diversity in the Bocas del Toro archipelago (Panama) was conducted. A total of ten species of Tetractinellida were encountered: Cinachyrella alloclada, Cinachyrella apion, Cinachyrella kuekenthali, Ecionemia megastylifera, Stelletta fibrosa, Stelletta sp., Stryphnus raratriaenus sp. nov., Erylus formosus, Geodia gibberosa and Geodia papyracea. Five of these species are new to the Atlantic sponge fauna of Panama, one of which is new to science. Stryphnus raratriaenus sp. nov. is very similar to Caribbean Asteropus species but it possesses triaenes. It is the firstspecies of this genus in the Caribbean. The description of Ecionemia megastylifera Wintermann–Kilian & Kilian, 1984 ishere revised and the species fully redescribed. A cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene partial fragment and/or a 28S ribosomal gene partial fragment (C1–D2 domains) were sequenced for some of the species collected.
TL;DR: Enigmazole A (1) as discussed by the authors is an 18-membered phosphomacrolide that contains an embedded exomethylene-substituted tetrahydropyran ring and an acyclic portion that spans an embedded oxazole moiety.
Abstract: Enigmazole A (1), a novel phosphate-containing macrolide, was isolated from a Papua New Guinea collection of the marine sponge Cinachyrella enigmatica. The structure of 1, including the absolute stereochemistry at all eight chiral centers, was determined by a combination of spectroscopic analyses and a series of microscale chemical derivatization studies. Compound 1 is comprised of an 18-membered phosphomacrolide that contains an embedded exomethylene-substituted tetrahydropyran ring and an acyclic portion that spans an embedded oxazole moiety. Two additional analogues, 15-O-methylenigmazole A and 13-hydroxy-15-O-methylenigmazole A, were also isolated and assigned. The enigmazoles are the first phosphomacrolides from a marine source and 1 exhibited significant cytotoxicity in the NCI 60-cell line antitumor screen, with a mean GI(50) of 1.7 microM.