Sarmentofascis zamparelliae n. sp., a new demosponge from the lower Campanian of southern Italy

A new coralline sponge, exhibiting typical “stromatoporoid” bodyplan, is described as Sarmentofascis zamparelliae n. sp. from the lower Campanian of the southern Apennines, Italy. It is differentiated from Sarmentofascis cretacea (Turnsek) (Hauterivian of Montenegro) and Sarmentofascis chabrieri Termier, Termier and Vachard (Santonian of France) above all by its slender arborescent skeleton, exhibiting longitudinally distributed astrorhizae-like canals. S. zamparelliae n. sp. is the youngest representative of the genus and is reported from a period exhibiting a distinct decline of “stromatoporoid” sponges. With its clinogonal microstructure and occurrence in inner platform stromatoporoid-foraminiferan floatstones it can be considered a Late Cretaceous environmental analog to the Late Jurassic Cladocoropsis.