Vol. 49 No. 5, 2010

Reproduction of the Bath Sponge Spongia ceylonensis (Dictyoceratida: Spongiidae) from Penghu, Taiwan

I-Fu Chung¹, Yen-Ming Huang¹, Tsung-Han Lee², and Li-Lian Liu¹,*

¹Institute of Marine Biology and Asia-Pacific Ocean Research Center-Kuroshio Research Group, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
²Department of Life Sciences, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan

I-Fu Chung, Yen-Ming Huang, Tsung-Han Lee, and Li-Lian Liu (2010) The reproductive cycle of the bath sponge Spongia ceylonensis Dendy, 1905 was studied over a period of 1.5 yr in the intertidal zone at Penghu, Taiwan.  Results indicate that S. ceylonensis is gonochoric and viviparous.  Early-stage oocytes were first observed in Mar. in the mesohyl.  Embryos and larvae were found to be gathering in the vicinity of the aquiferous canals from Apr. to Sept.  Their sizes ranged from 346.0 ± 57.0 to 395.6 ± 51.2 μm, and the mean number of embryos/larvae per mm3 of tissue varied from 2.7 to 10.7.  The larvae belong to the parenchymella type and have a black pigmented ring with long flagella surrounding their anterior.  The reproductive period of S. ceylonensis generally coincided with an increase in water temperature, and it remained active in the temperature range of 19-28°C.

Key words: Spongia ceylonensis, Bath sponge, Reproduction, Taiwan.

*Correspondence: Tel: 886-7-5252000 ext. 5108.  Fax: 886-7-5255100.   E-mail:lilian@mail.nsysu.edu.tw