SPONG1AEIA 83 



2. RENIERA Schmidt. Form various, very fragile, easily pul- 

 verized; spongin very little developed; spicules straight needles 

 joined at their tips, and arranged to form a network: numerous 

 species. 



R. mollis Lambe. Body massive, lobate, 9 cm. long, 5 cm. high and 

 3 cm. thick; oscula large, 5 mm. in diameter; surface rough; color yel- 

 lowish: Labrador; Vancouver. 



3. HALICONDRIA Fleming. Massive sponges of various shapes with 

 needle-like spicules confusedly massed together, and with but little 

 spongin: numerous species. 



H. panicea (Pallas). Color gray, yellowish or orange: from Rhode 

 Island to the Arctic Ocean, in 4 to 8 fathoms; Europe. 



FAMILY 3. ESPEKELLIDAE. 



Form various, a distinct network of spongin being present with 

 needles of various forms, one of which is C-shaped: numerous genera. 



Fig. 142 Fig. 143 



Fig. 142 Microciona prolifera (Wilson). Fig. 143 Stylotella heliophila (Parker). 



1. ESPERELLA* Vosmaer. Amorphous sponges with needle-like spic- 

 ules predominating; spongin usually distinct: several species. 



E. fibrexilis H. V. Wilson. Irregular sponges, yellowish-brown in 

 color, about 10 cm. in diameter, covered with algae, hydroids, etc., 

 with a dermal membrane, beneath which are subdermal cavities; 

 spicules few; gemmules formed during the summer: Woods Hole, on 

 docks. 



2. MICROCIONA Bowerbank. Sponge incrusting and irregular in 

 form, with straight or bent needle-like spicules and stout spongin fibres: 

 cosmopolitan. 



* See "Observations on the Gemmule and Egg Development of Marine Sponges," 

 by H. V. Wilson, Jour. Morph., Vol. 9, p. 277, 1894. 



