Two New Distributional Records of Sponges along the West Coast of India

The current study reports range extensions of marine sponges to the Indian subcontinent and within it. Stelletta clavosa (Ridley, 1884) is being reported from the Gulf of Kachchh for the first time. Dragmacidon coccineum (Keller, 1891) is being reported to the Indian subcontinent for the first time. The animals were collected by SCUBA diving. The spicules and skeletal structures of the animal were analysed to identify the species. A regional checklist of marine sponges from the Gulf of Kachchh region (formerly known as the Kathiawar or Kathiawad region) has been included as a supplement to the paper, highlighting the importance of new records and distributional records that contribute to the nation's biodiversity.