New Insight into the Genus Cladocroce (Porifera, Demospongiae) Based on Morphological and Molecular Data, with the Description of Two New Species

During scientific expeditions in Indonesia and Vietnam, several sponge specimens belonging to the genus Cladocroce were collected. The integration of morphological molecular analyses, incorporating species delimitation models (ABGD, ASAP, bPTP) phylogenetic approaches using three markers (COI, 28S, 18S–ITS1–5.8S–ITS2–28S), allowed us discriminate congeneric species. Two these (C. burapha C. pansinii sp. nov.) supported by data, whereas a third lamellata was delimited data only. We formally describe two new species, nov. aculeata is newly recorded for first documented finding after original description. re-examination type material burapha, indirectly approach, confirm that lives sympatry with Vietnam Indonesia. Thanks findings, we relocated paratype described here, i.e.,