A new species of Lophophysema (Porifera, Hexactinellida, Hyalonematidae) from the South China Sea

We describe Lophophysema eversa sp. nov. (Porifera, Hexactinellida, Hyalonematidae) based on a single specimen collected from the South China Sea at a depth of 3683 m. The new species can be distinguished from the three known congeners by its unusual body shape with basalia on the side of the body, the lack of macramphidiscs, the combination of the pinular pentactins having spiny tangential rays and the pinular ray of atrialia longer than dermalia and canalaria. This is the first record of the genus Lophophysema from the South China Sea. We also use a partial sequence of the 16S rRNA gene to confirm the family assignment of the new specimen.