8 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL. 1 1 



Diagnosis. — This is the cosmopolitan, lavender sponge, which is softly 

 spongy and rather slimy to the touch. The Gulf specimens have oscular 

 chimneys shaped like volcanic cones sometimes 1 cm high over the surface. 

 Oscules are about 2 mm in diameter. Pores 200 p, in diameter are abund- 

 ant. There are no spicules in the dermis and no subdermal cavities. Speci- 

 mens are 1 cm thick and cover an area averaging 25 cms square. The 

 internal structure is an isodictyal reticulation of oxeas averaging 5 by 

 130 /x. 



Holotype. — British Museum. 



Type locality. — British w^aters. 



Distribution. — ^World w^ide. 



Material examined. — 

 Sta. 515-36 San Francisco Island 2-24-36 Shore 



Sta. 586-36 Concepcion Bay 3-14-36 8 m 



Remarks. — This specimen has been previously reported from Albe- 

 marle Island, Galapagos, by earlier Hancock Pacific Expeditions and 

 again from Albemarle Island by members of the Presidential Cruise to 

 those w^aters in 1938, as w^ell as near Panama City by de Laubenfels in 

 1933. It has also been reported from nearly all oceans of the vi^orld. It is 

 easily identifiable by its unvarying lavender color. This is one of the few 

 instances where color seems important in sponge identification. 



Family Gallyspongiidae de Laubenfels 



Genus GALLYSPONGIA Duchassaing and Michelotti 



Gallyspongia californica, new species 



Plate 8, Fig. 16 ; Plate 9, Figs. 17, 18 



Diagnosis. — The specimen of this sponge is a fragment 5 cm long, 

 4 cm wide, and slightly more than 1 cm high. The general form tends to 

 be somewhat ramose. The consistency is from mediocre to fragile, and the 

 entire specimen is translucent but brownish in color, both internally and 

 externally. 



The surface is superficially smooth. There appears to be a surface 

 membrane about 100 ju, thick, which is very tightly held. Uniformly 

 scattered over the specimen are openings 200 ju, in diameter. 7 here are 

 in addition larger openings 2 mm in diameter. These tend to occur at the 

 end of the branches, but this is not always the case. 



The spiculation, as is typical in Gallyspongia, consists exclusively of 

 small oxeas and is tangential. The oxeas are rather larger than is usual 

 for this genus. Many were found which measured 5 by 150 /x, but the 

 average size is more nearly 3 by 80 /a. The ascending fibers are 25 jx wide 



