Confirmation of the southern African distribution of the marine sponge (Montagu, 1814) in the context of its global dispersal.

Background: Intertidal rocky shore surveys along the South African coastline (∼3,000 km) have demonstrated the presence and abundance of the encrusting orange sponge (Montagu, 1814), a well-known globally distributed species. After analysing the southern African populations, we gained a better understanding of the genetic structure of this now-accepted global species. Apart from confirming the presence of a single population of , we also determined its distribution in the southern African intertidal rocky shore ecosystem, compared its genetic diversity to congeners, predict its global distribution via environmental niche modelling, and discussed possible underlying mechanisms controlling the species' global distribution.

New Latrunculiidae genus (Porifera, Poecilosclerida) from the Madagascar Ridge.

Family Latrunculiidae Topsent, 1922 comprises seven genera: Latrunculia Barboza du Bocage, 1869; Sceptrella Schmidt, 1870; Strongylodesma Lvi, 1969; Tsitsikamma Samaai Kelly, 2002; Cyclacanthia Samaai Kelly in Samaai et al. (2004); Bomba and Latrunclava Kelly, Reiswig Samaai in Kelly et al. (2016) (Samaai Kelly 2002; Kelly et al.

The cushion-star Parvulastra exigua in South Africa: one species or more?

The cushion-star Parvulastra exigua (Lamarck, 1816) is a widely distributed member of the temperate intertidal fauna in the southern hemisphere. In South Africa, it occurs in sympatry with the endemic Parvulastra dyscrita (Clark, 1923), the two species being differentiated predominantly by gonopore placement. Several recent studies have suggested that there may be additional cryptic species within the Parvulastra exigua complex in South Africa, based variously on color morphology, genetic evidence and the differential placement of the gonopores.