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Lantianospongia
Taxonomy
Lantianospongia was named by Xiao et al. (2005). Its type is Lantianospongia palifera.
It was assigned to Hintzespongiidae by Xiao et al. (2005).
It was assigned to Hintzespongiidae by Xiao et al. (2005).
Species
L. palifera (type species)
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Lantianospongia Xiao et al. p. 102 fig. 6E |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| S. Xiao et al. 2005 | A genus of the Hintzespongiidae with ovoidal skeleton. Sponge walls thin and perforated by numerous, large, elliptical to circular parietal gaps. Skeletal net composed of irregularly oriented stauracts of several sizes. Basal part of sponge body reinforced by long, diagonally oriented, probably bundled monacts or diacts. Oscular margins with regularly spaced serrations and indentations. Long, bundled monact or diact supports each of the serrations; the bundled spicules fan out beneath the apex of serrations (Fig. 6E).
Several hexactinellids have parietal gaps in their skeletal nets. Stephenospongia Rigby, 1986, from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, is more than 44 mm high and has elliptical parietal gaps 10–14 mm in maximum diameter. Its skeleton is made of hexactine-based spicules with uniform diameter (ca. 0.06 mm) but variable ray length (from less than 1 mm to more than 3 mm). Three other hexactinellid genera, Ratcliffespongia (Rigby, 1969), Hintzespongia (Rigby and Gutschick, 1976; Rigby, 1983), and Valospongia (Rigby, 1983), all from the Middle Cambrian Marjum Formation in western Utah, also bear parietal gaps in their skeletal nets. Ratcliffespongia (up to 70 mm high) has somewhat smaller parietal gaps (3–5 mm in maximum diameter) and loosely woven stauracts of several sizes (ray diameter between 0.02 and 0.06 mm, ray length between 0.5 and 3.5 mm). Hintzespongia (22–32 mm) has double-layered walls, with parietal gaps (0.5–0.7 mm in diameter) occurring on the inner wall, and stauracts of several sizes (ray diameter between 0.02 and 0.06 mm, ray length between 0.3 and 2 mm). Parietal gaps (or bmoundsQ in the terminology of Rigby, 1983) of two sizes (2 mm and 6–8 mm in diameter) occur in the endosomal net of Valospongia (193 mm high, 90 mm wide). Valospongia has several sizes of hexactine-based spicules, ranging from 0.3 mm to several centimeters in ray length and from 0.04 to 0.3 mm in ray diameter. Lantianospongia shares some characters, such as the presence of parietal gaps and several sizes of stauracts, with the Middle Cambrian genera mentioned above, indicating close evolutionary relationships with them. It can be differentiated from those Middle Cambrian sponges, however, by its basal diagonal monacts/diacts and oscular supporting monacts/diacts as well as its serrated oscular margin. |