An overview of the Mediterranean cave-dwelling horny sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae) Author Manconi, Renata Author Cadeddu, Barbara Author Ledda, Fabio Author Pronzato, Roberto text ZooKeys 2013 281 1 68 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.281.4171 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.281.4171 1313-2970-281-1 Sarcotragus foetidus Schmidt, 1862 Fig. 21 Sarcotragus foetidus Schmidt, 1862: 36. Description. Growth form irregularly massive to globular (up to 1 m in diameter, 50 cm in height); oscules large (0.5-1 cm in diameter) with a short collar, often grouped in a central depression at the top of the body. Consistency soft and strong. Colour is medium grey, but brown or black varieties have been also recorded ( Vacelet 1959 ). Surface is smooth or covered by several epizoans. Conules are 2-3 mm high and 10-15 mm apart. Dry specimens become very hard and smaller (1/5) than living ones, also colour changes regularly into black. The skeleton does not differ from the other Mediterranean species belonging to the genus; the main skeleton composed by a reticulate network of primary (ca. 100-200 µm in diameter) and secondary (ca. 50-100 µm in diameter) fibres. Filaments abundant (1-3 µm in diameter). Habitat. Cave, rocky, detritic and muddy bottom, coralligenous community. Bathymetric range 3-400 m. Mediterranean Caves. Blava, Calamars, Meda Petita, Petita de la Vaca caves (Balearic Sea); Mago Cave (Central Tyrrhenian Sea); Taccio Vecchio 1 Cave-Lampedusa*, Tabarka Tunnel (Sicily Channel); Croatian caves (Northern Adriatic Sea); Viole Cave (Southern Adriatic Sea); Chios 213, Trypia Spilia, Fara , Agios Vasilios caves (Aegean Sea) ( Pansini et al. 1977 ; Bibiloni et al. 1984a ; Uriz et al. 1992 ; Voultsiadou-Koukoura and Koukouras 1993 ; Ben Mustapha et al. 2002 ; Pronzato and Manconi 2011 ; Bakran-Petricioli et al. 2012 ; Cadeddu 2012 ; Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou 2012 ). Figure 21 Sarcotragus foetidus . a a large (ca. 40 cm) living specimen free of epibiotic organisms b magnification of the sponge surface network c large specimen (ca. 35 cm) with dense epibiotic organisms d uncored skeleton fibre e very thin filaments.