Skeletal development in two species of tethya (porifera, demospongiae)

Abstract

Changes in skeletal structure occurring in differently sized specimens of two species of Tethya (T. aurantium and T. citrina) were studied. In the two species, differences in sponge consistency were found to be affected by their radial strongyloxeas skeleton and by aster sheets reinforcing their collagenous ectosomes. In T. aurantium, body enlargement was enhanced by the production of new megasters, while in T. citrina a proliferation of strongyloxea bundles accompanied its growth. These differences are related to the different ecological strategies of the two species. In both species, strongyloxea length was clearly related to individual size. © 2000 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.