Keywords :
Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Biogeography; Conservation; Museum Collections
บทคัดย่อ :
Southeast Asia harbours nearly one-fourth of the planet s plant and animal species (Myers et al. 2000;
Mittermeier et al. 2005). This biodiversity hot spot needs conservation measures (Sodhi et al. 2010;
Woodruff 2010), particularly for the extremely vulnerable freshwater ecosystems and their biota
(Leveque et al. 2005; Balian et al. 2008; Manconi & Pronzato 2008; Manconi et al. 2013; Van Damme
et al. 2013).
As for Porifera from Southeast Asian inland waters, data are scarce and based mostly on a few old records
and scattered papers; the last synopsis highlighted that 26 species inhabit this area, with most species
(18) reported only once, and a few reaching a maximum of 5 records (Manconi et al. 2013). Knowledge
of taxonomic richness, endemicity level, and biogeographic patterns of freshwater sponges is scarce, and
biodiversity seems to be highly underestimated in the entire Oriental Region (Manconi et al. 2013; Van
Soest et al. 2015) as indicated also by recent new records, e.g., from Pune and Singapore (Jakhalekar &
Ghate 2013; Lim & Tan 2013; Kulkarni et al. 2015). Extensive field campaigns in Thailand and SEM
investigations have also yielded the discovery of a notably rich sponge fauna (Ruengsawang et al. 2012;
Manconi et al. 2013; Ruengsawang 2013).
We report the discovery of Umborotula bogorensis (Weber, 1890) from Northeast Thailand in the
Southeast Asian tropics, more than 80 years after one was last recorded. We provide a comparison of
historical data and material vs present findings, together with synonymies and a detailed morphological
analysis by SEM of the genus Umborotula. We further comment on the affinities of the genus, following
a suggestion by Manconi et al. (2013) recommending its revision. In addition, we formally accept the
rank elevation of the previous suborder Spongillina to the new order Spongillida.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Ruengsawang, N., Sangpradub, N., Artchawakom, T., Pronzato, R., & Manconi, R. (2017). Rare freshwater sponges of Australasia: new record of Umborotula bogorensis (Porifera: spongillida: spongillidae) from the Sakaerat biosphere reserve in Northeast Thailand. European Journal of Taxonomy, (260).
