Two New Distributional Records of Sponges along the West Coast of India
G. Sivaleela *
Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai, 600 028, India.
Florence Suganya R
Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai, 600 028, India.
Kamaleshwaran E
Loyola College (Autonomous), Chennai, 600 034, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The current study reports range extensions of marine sponges to the Indian subcontinent and within it. Stelletta clavosa (Ridley, 1884) is being reported from the Gulf of Kachchh for the first time. Dragmacidon coccineum (Keller, 1891) is being reported to the Indian subcontinent for the first time. The animals were collected by SCUBA diving. The spicules and skeletal structures of the animal were analysed to identify the species. A regional checklist of marine sponges from the Gulf of Kachchh region (formerly known as the Kathiawar or Kathiawad region) has been included as a supplement to the paper, highlighting the importance of new records and distributional records that contribute to the nation's biodiversity.
Keywords: Stelletta clavosa, Gulf of Kachchh, India, new distributional record, Dragmacidon coccineum, Lakshadweep Islands