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Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea (Hechtel, 1965) Tables 6, 7; Figs. 29A–C, 36L Synonymy and references: Sigmadocia caerulea Hechtel (1965: 30); Haliclona coerulescens, Haliclona (Reniera) coerulescens, Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea: Gómez (2007: 63), Sigmadocia caerulea and Sigmadocia coerulea: see references compiled in de Weerdt (2000: 29); Haliclona caerulea: de Weerdt (2000: 29), Hajdu et al. (2011: 180) and Bispo et al. (2016: 241); Haliclona coerulea: Pérez et al. (2017: 10). Type locality. Jamaica. Material examined. CNPGG-2396, Hornos reef (19.19083°N, - 96.11777°W), 2.2 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 27 August 2018; CNPGG-2421, Isla Verde reef (19.19844°N, - 96.06863°W), 7.3 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 28 August 2018. Distribution. Mexico (Gómez 2007; current records), Cuba (Alcolado 1976), other Caribbean Sea countries to Brazil (Weerdt de 2000). Remarks. Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea is characterized by a combination of shape, bright blue color, skeletal architecture, and the presence of sigmas 15–30 µm long, which distinguish it from Haliclona (Soestella) piscaderaensis, also with sigmas, but smaller (7–12.5 µm) (de Weerdt 2000). Haliclona. (S.) caerulea has only been registered for the GoM from the Veracruz reefs (Gómez 2007, 2011; this work). De Weerdt (2000) has mentioned that the predominant environment of the species lies in the roots of mangroves and in waters shallower than 27 m. In the GoM, the species is known from shallow coral reefs.

Published as part of Ugalde, Diana, Fernandez, Julio C. C., Gómez, Patricia, Lôbo-Hajdu, Gisele & Simões, Nuno, 2021, An update on the diversity of marine sponges in the southern Gulf of Mexico coral reefs, pp. 1-112 in Zootaxa 5031 (1) on page 37, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5031.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5454380