Cymbastela lamellata is a species of marine sponge in the family Axinellidae.[1]

Cymbastela lamellata
Cymbastela lamellata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Order: Axinellida
Family: Axinellidae
Genus: Cymbastela
Species:
C. lamellata
Binomial name
Cymbastela lamellata
Synonyms[1]

The sponge was first described in 1961 by Patricia Bergquist as Axinella lamellata,[3][4] However the name had already been used, and she renamed it in 1970 as Axinella tricalciformis.[3][1][2]

It is known from both the Chatham Islands and from waters around Tasmania, where it has been found at depths of 6–90 m. It is a sessile, filter feeder.[3]

C. lamellata is a dominant marine sponge in Fiordland, New Zealand. A mass bleaching event (akin to coral bleaching) of C. lamellata was reported throughout much of Fiordland following a heatwave in mid-2022, causing C. lamellata to expel their symbiotic algae. This was the largest case of temperate sponge bleaching ever recorded. Despite the bleaching event, most of the bleached sponges were found to be still alive, although at intensified risk of fish predation.[5][6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Van Soest RW, Boury-Esnault N, Hooper JN, Rützler K, de Voogd NJ, de Glasby BA, Hajdu E, Pisera AB, Manconi R, Schoenberg C, Janussen D, Tabachnick KR, Klautau M, Picton B, Kelly M, Vacelet J (eds.). "Cymbastela lamellata (Bergquist, 1961)". World Porifera database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  2. ^ a b Bergquist, P.R. (1970). "The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Porifera,Demospongiae, Part 2 (Axinellida and Halichondrida)" (PDF). New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir. 51: 9–85.
  3. ^ a b c "Species Axinella tricalyciformis Bergquist, 1961". Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  4. ^ Bergquist, P.R. (1961). "Demospongiae (Porifera) of the Chatham Islands and Chatham Rise, collected by the Chatham Islands 1954 Expedition" (PDF). Bulletin of the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 139: 169–206, 20 figs [188].
  5. ^ "New Zealand records largest ever bleaching of sea sponges". the Guardian. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  6. ^ "Scientists fear mass bleaching of Fiordland sea sponges the largest of its kind". RNZ. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  7. ^ ""We were really worried they would all die."". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 2022-10-02.