An annotated and illustrated identification guide to common mesophotic reef sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae, Hexactinellida, and Homoscleromorpha) inhabiting Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and vicinities.

ABSTRACT: Sponges are recognized as a diverse and abundant component of mesophotic and deep-sea ecosystems worldwide. In Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary region within the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, sponges thrive among diverse biological and geological habitats between 16-200+ m deep (i.e., coral reefs and communities, algal nodules, and coralline algae reefs, mesophotic reefs, patch reefs, scarps, ridges, soft substrate, and rocky outcrops). A synoptic guide is presented, developed by studying common sponge species in the region, through direct sampling and in-situ photographic records. A total of 64 species is included: 60 are Demospongiae (14 orders), two are Hexactinellida (one order), and two are Homoscleromorpha (one order). Thirty-four taxa are identified to species and

SUBMITTER: Diaz MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10208736 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature