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 Aplysilla rosea (Barrois, 1876) Fig. 3 Verongia rosea Barrois, 1876: 57. Description. Growth form encrusting, thin (3-6 mm), in irregular patches of up to 20 cm in diameter. Surface evidently conulose (1-3 mm) because of the dense dendritic "forest" of "small horny trees" forming the typical skeleton of all Aplysilla species. Oscules (1-3 mm) scattered and not evident; inhalant apertures rarely visible in vivo. Colour from rose to yellow. Skeleton of large ramified fibres arising from a spongin basal plate strictly adhering to the substratum. Dendritic fibres with maximum size of ca. 5 mm in length, ca. 300 µm in diameter at the basal portion, and no more than 50 µm in diameter at terminal branches (up to 4-6 sometimes anastomosing). Spongin layered, transparent, pale in colour, not cored with mineral debris. Habitat. Cave, rocky/detritic/muddy bottom, hyperhaline canal (Manfredonia), artificial reef, coralligenous community, and epibiotic on red coral and on Pinna nobilis (L., 1758). Bathymetric range 1-110 m. Mediterranean Caves. Blava, Calamars, La Catedral, J1 caves (Balearic Sea); Galatea Cave* (Sardinian Sea); Bear , Troc, Endoume, Figuier, Tremies , Niolon caves (Gulf of Lions); Western-Zoagli Cave (Ligurian Sea); Mago, Gaiola, Secca delle Formiche-Vivara, Mitigliano caves (Central Tyrrhenian Sea); Azzurra Cave (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea); Taccio Vecchio 1 Cave-Lampedusa*, Zembra caves (Sicily Channel); La Regina Cave (Southern Adriatic Sea); Trypia Spilia, Ftelio, Madhes, Andros caves (Aegean Sea) ( Vacelet 1959 ; Sara 1961a 1964a ; Labate 1965 ; Boury-Esnault 1971 ; Pouliquen 1972 ; Pulitzer-Finali and Pronzato 1976 , 1980 ; Pansini et al. 1977 ; Pulitzer-Finali 1977 ; Pansini and Pronzato 1982 ; Balduzzi et al. 1989 ; Bibiloni et al. 1989 ; Benedetti-Cecchi et al. 1998 ; Ben Mustapha et al. 2003 ; Pronzato and Manconi 2011 ; Cadeddu 2012 ; Gerovasileiou and Voultsiadou 2012 ). Figure 3 Aplysilla rosea . a encrusting conulose specimen ca. 10 cm in diameter b dendritic-arborescent skeleton with ascending spongin fibres of different specimens c details of uncored spongin fibres. c modified from Vacelet (1959) .