Iophon (sponge)
# Iophon (sponge)

Iophon is a genus of sponges belonging to the family Acarnidae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution.

## Description

This geus contains species with non-fistulose, massive, branching or encrusting growth forms. The ectosomal (outer) skeleton is made of tylotes (long, slender megascleres with knobs at both ends) with microspined bases. The choanosomal (inner) skeleton is a rounded, triangular or square-meshed network of smooth or spined choanosomal styles, arranged singly or with 2-3 per row. The microscleres include bipocilla and palmate anisochelae with spurs. Bipocilla are unique to this genus. They are modified anisochela in which the wing-like alae are joined together by a short curved shaft. Toxas are absent.

## Species

The following species are recognised:

* Iophon abnormalis (Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
* Iophon aceratum (Hentschel, 1914)
* Iophon bipocillum (Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2013)
* Iophon cheliferum (Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
* Iophon chilense (Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996)
* Iophon cylindricum (Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
* Iophon dogieli (Koltun, 1955)
* Iophon dubium (Hansen, 1885)
* Iophon flabellodigitatum (Kirkpatrick, 1907)
* Iophon frigidum Lundbeck, 1905
* Iophon funis (Topsent, 1892)
* Iophon gaussi (Hentschel, 1914)
* Iophon hesperidesi (Rios, Cristobo & Urgorri, 2004)
* Iophon husvikense (Goodwin, Brewin & Brickle, 2012)
* Iophon hyndmani (Bowerbank, 1858)
* Iophon indentatus (Wilson, 1904)
* Iophon koltuni Morozov, Sabirov & Zimina, 2019
* Iophon laevistylus Dendy, 1924
* Iophon lamella (Wilson, 1904)
* Iophon laminale (Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
* Iophon methanophila (Cárdenas, 2019)
* Iophon minor (Brøndsted, 1924)
* Iophon nigricans (Bowerbank, 1858)
* Iophon omnivorus (Ridley & Dendy, 1887)
* Iophon ostiamagna (Wilson, 1904)
* Iophon parvachela (Esteves, de Paula, Lerner, Lôbo-Hajdu & Hajdu, 2018)
* Iophon piceum (Vosmaer, 1882)
* Iophon pictoni (Goodwin, Brewin & Brickle, 2011)
* Iophon pluricorne (Topsent, 1907)
* Iophon pommeraniae (Thiele, 1903)
* Iophon proximum (Ridley,1881)
* Iophon radiatum (Topsent, 1901)
* Iophon rayae (Bakus, 1966)
* Iophon roseum (Goodwin, Brewin & Brickle, 2016)
* Iophon semispinosum (Bergquist, 1961)
* Iophon spinulentum (Bowerbank, 1866)
* Iophon terranovae (Calcinai & Pansini, 2000)
* Iophon timidum (Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996)
* Iophon tubiforme (Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996)
* Iophon unicorne (Topsent, 1907)
* Iophon variopocillatum (Alander, 1942)
