Sponges

A total of 127 species of sponges distributed in two classes, 14 orders, 42 families, and 72 genera are reported for Costa Rica in this part. Sixty-five species from the Caribbean coast are included here, belonging to 1 class, 10 orders, 29 families, and 45 genera; and 62 species in 2 classes, 13 orders, 31 families, and 44 genera from the Pacific. There are no species in common between both sides of Costa Rica. Twenty-nine species are new records for the Caribbean and 53 species for the Pacific of Costa Rica. Four species, Stelletta pudica, Amorphinopsis atlantica, Axinyssa lithophaga, and Hymeniacidon caerulea, may be new records for the Caribbean Sea. There are probably many more species, since only a few sites have been studied, and several habitats have not been sampled in the Caribbean or Pacific of Costa Rica, for example, caves, mangroves, or deep waters. There are few studies from other Central American countries, with the exception of Belize and Panama.