Bridging the gap: first record of sponge genus Strongylodesma in Australian waters

Eight species of Strongylodesma Lévi, 1969 (Demospongiae Sollas, Poecilosclerida Topsent, Latrunculiidae Topsent) are recognised today (Van Soest et al. 2019): three from South Africa (S. algoaensis and S. tsitsikammaensis Samaai et al., 2003; S. aliwaliensis Samaai et al., 2004); two from the Tropical Western Atlantic (S. nigra and S. purpurea Samaai Kelly, 2009); and two from the Western Pacific Ocean (S. novaecaledoniae and S. tongaensis Samaai Kelly, 2009). The type species, S. areolata Lévi, 1969, is from Vema Seamount in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1000 km northwest of Cape Town. Prior to this work, Strongylodesma had not been recorded in the Southwest Pacific region: here we report for the first time, a new species from temperate Australia, S. australiense sp. nov.