Ríos, P.; Cristobo, J.; Baker, E.; Beazley, L.; Culwick T.; Kenchington, E. (2021). Increasing Knowledge of Biodiversity on the Orphan Seamount: A New Species of Tedania (Tedaniopsis) Dendy, 1924. Frontiers in Marine Science. 8: 612857.
A new Tedania species (Porifera) was collect using remotely operated vehicles during
the Canadian mission HUD2010-029 and the British RRS Discovery Cruise DY081, on
the Orphan Seamount near the Orphan Knoll, northwest Atlantic, between 2999.88
and 3450.4 m depth. Orphan Knoll is an isolated, drowned continental fragment
550 km northeast Newfoundland in the Labrador Sea. This region is biologically rich
and complex and in 2007, the regional fisheries management organization operating
in the area regulated that no vessel shall engage in bottom-contact fishing activities
until reviewed in 2020 with a review slated at the end of this year. Members
of the genus Tedania are uncommon in the temperate northern hemisphere with
only six species known previously: Tedania (Tedania) anhelans; Tedania (Tedania)
pilarriosae; Tedania (Tedania) suctoria; Tedania (Tedania) urgorrii; Tedania (Tedaniopsis)
gurjanovae; and Tedania (Tedaniopsis) phacellina. The particular features of the new
sponge we describe are the very peculiar external morphology which is tree-like with
dichotomous branching—a morphology not previously described in this subgenus; and
the combination of spicules found: long styles, the typical tornotes of the subgenus
and two sizes of onychaetes. Additional information is provided on other species of
Tedaniopsis described from the Atlantic Ocean. Based on the characteristics reported,
we propose a new species, Tedania (Tedaniopsis) rappi sp. nov. in honor of Prof. Hans
Tore Rapp (1972–2020), University of Bergen, Norway, a renowned sponge taxonomist
and coordinator of the Horizon 2020 SponGES project. The holotype of T. (T.) phacellina
Topsent, 1912 from the Azores, the only other northern Atlantic species in the subgenus
Tedaniopsis, was reviewed for comparison.
