Neophrissospongia jorgeorum sp. nov. https://www.zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/bca1998f-f8b7-464b-91a1-3eb1e542ada5 (Figs. 1 and 2; Table 1) Type material. Holotype: UFPEPOR 2422, Bacia Potiguar (4° 44’ 53.7” S, 36° 25’ 27.4” W), Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil, 108 m, collected by trawl, Box 37, coll. R / V ‘ Astro Garoupa’, 23 May 2011. Etymology. The specific name honors Alan Dias and Ulisses Pinheiro’s fathers: Jorge Ricardo de Oliveira Cavalcanti and Jorge Mauricio Pinheiro. Diagnosis. Neophrissospongia with skeleton composed of dicranoclone desmas with mushroom-shaped tubercles, dichotriaenes with tuberculated cladomes, acanthose microstrongyles and acanthose microstyles. Description (Fig. 1a–b). The specimen presents an ear-shaped form and hard consistency with an irregular and rough surface covered with visible aquiferous canals, mostly in the upper region. The color is unknown in life, brownish purple in ethanol and the measures are: 16 cm (length), 13 cm (width) and 2 cm (thick). Additionally, the specimen presents a small number of clustered debris in the basal region. Skeleton (Fig. 1c). Ectosomal skeleton formed by a dense layer of microstrongyles and microstyles, occasionally pierced by choanosomal dichotriaenes. Choanosome formed by dichotriaenes, with some microscleres scattered throughout it, and tuberculated dicranoclones forming a net-like structure. Spicules (Fig. 2a–i). Dicranoclone desma (Fig. 2a): Articulated with mushroom-shaped tubercles (Total length of the arch: 250– 381.25 –537.5 / 20– 34.2 –50 µm); Dichotriaene (Fig. 2 b-c): Straight, smooth rhabdome with strongly tuberculated cladome (Rhabdome: 1000– 1449.63 –2166.5 / 16.5– 41 –66.5; Cladome: 225 –273.16– 337.5 µm); Microstrongyle (Fig. 2 d-f): Acanthose with light or accentuated curvature (38.6 –47.55– 57.96 / 2.6 –3.13– 3.2 µm); Microstyle (Fig. 2 g-i): Acanthose, long, thin, straight or slightly curved (98 –126.07 –157.8 / 0.6 –2.06– 3.2 µm). Remarks. An interesting feature of the new species is the lack of streptasters/amphiasters, both common microscleres in Neophrissospongia species that despite extensive and multiple spicule preparations still could not found. Morphologically, this feature can demonstrate a close relation between Neophrissospongia and Levispongia, going according to the results shown in Schuster et al. (2021). This absence of streptasters/amphiasters also could be a diagnostic character to allocate the new species with Levispongia, despite the habit and spicule complement of Neophrissospongia jorgeorum sp. nov. being more similar to Neophrissospongia, especially its dicranoclones desmas and dichotriaenes. Thus, this is the first record of the Genus Neophrissospongia from Brazil, as well as for the South Atlantic. Until now, seven species of Neophrissospongia have been recorded worldwide: Neophrissospongia microstylifera (Lévi & Lévi, 1983), from New Caledonia; N. radjae Pisera & Vacelet, 2011, from Island of Korkula, Croatia; N. nolitangere (Schmidt, 1870), from Azores, Cape Verde Islands; N. endoumensis Pisera & Vacelet, 2011, from Marseille, France; N. tubulata (van Soest & Stentoft, 1988), from Paynes Bay, Barbados; N. nana Manconi & Serusi, 2008, from Sardenha, Italy and N. galapagoensis Schuster et al. 2018, from Tortuga Island, Haiti. Among these species, N. tubulata, N. nana and N. galapagoensis does not have microstyles in the spicule complement, diverging from the new species. Neophrissospongia radjae, N. nolitangere and N. endoumensis differ from the new species in lacking acanthose microstrongyles. Neophrissospongia microstylifera from New Caledonia, is the most similar species to Neophrissospongia jorgeorum sp. nov. for the absence of streptasters/amphiasters and the presence of microstyles and microstrongyles. However, N. microstylifera has subtylostyles, which are not found in the new species. Additionally, the cospecificity is unlikely given the geographical distance between the two species (Brazil and New Caledonia).

Published as part of Dias, Alan, Kelly, Michelle & Pinheiro, Ulisses, 2023, Two news species of Corallistidae (Porifera; Demospongiae; Tetractinellida) with a first record of Awhiowhio from the Atlantic, pp. 182-192 in Zootaxa 5277 (1) on pages 184-187, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5277.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/7893186