Nineteen species of lithistid sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae), representing 13 genera, eight families, and four suborders are reported from the tropical western Atlantic region, including three new records of occurrence: Discodermia verrucosa Topsent, Corallistes cf. undulatus Lévi & Lévi, and C. cf. nolitangere Schmidt. This inventory of the biodiversity and bathymetric distribution of these sponges is based on the results obtained from 36 expeditions and more than 450 submersible transects. The objective of these expeditions was the collection of marine organisms for discovery of biologically active compounds with pharmaceutical potential. The taxonomic diversity and distribution thus noted. contrasts with the results of previous reports which describe more specific regional faunas. Lithistids are dominant components of hard-bottom habitats at depths greater than 150 m in the tropical western Atlantic region.

Depth range
0- 914 m

Mesophotic “mentions”
0 x (total of 2971 words)

Classification
* Presents original data
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
* Focused on 'mesophotic coral ecosystem'

Fields
Biodiversity
Community structure

Focusgroups
Porifera (Sponges)

Locations
Bahamas
Curaçao
Bonaire
Puerto Rico
Barbados
Belize
Jamaica
US Virgin Islands
Guadeloupe
Martinique
St Vincent
Grenada
USA - Pulley Ridge
Turks and Caicos
Honduras - Bay Islands
Venezuela - Caribbean Sea
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Aruba
British Virgin Islands
Colombia - Caribbean Sea
Saint Lucia

Platforms
Manned Submersible
SCUBA (open-circuit or unspecified)