Redescription of the rare species Podospongia loveni (Porifera) from the Cantabrian Sea

As a result of two oceanographic projects (Ecomarg, date; Cocace, date) on the continental shelf of the Cantabrian Sea, ten stipitate sponge specimens were collected and assigned to Podospongia loveni [du Bocage, B., 1869. Eponges siliceuses nouvelles du Portugal et de l'Île Saint-Iago (Archipel de Cap-Vert). Jornal de Sciencias mathematicas, physicas e naturais 2, 159-162]. Since the holotype was destroyed [Kelly, M., Samaai, T., 2002. Family Podospongiidae de Laubenfels, 1936. In: Hooper, J.N.A., Soest, RW.M., (Eds.), Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges, New York, pp. 694-702] and with the existence of several specimens from a close region, we hereby redescribe this species. scanning electron microscopy pictures of the spicules and skeletal architecture of P. loveni are for the first time provided.