The Sponges 



of the 



West-Central Pacific 



By 



M. W. de Laubenfels 



Professor of Zoology 

 Oregon State College 



The materials here treated consist principally of my collections made dur- 

 ing the months of June, July, August and September, 1949. At least one speci- 

 men of each of these species has been deposited in the United States National 

 Museum, including the types of all new species. Another series of dried speci- 

 mens (not here referred to by numbers) was deposited in the Bernice P. 

 Bishop Museum in Honolulu. Discussion is included of specimens collected 

 at Bikini and Eniwetok by various biologists who studied there in 1946, 1947, 

 and 1948. Some of these had been sent to the U. S. National Museum and 

 thence forwarded to me. Others were sent first to the University of Washing- 

 ton and transmitted from there to me. 



The two previous brief mentions of sponges from the area under con- 

 sideration are also re-embodied in the present discussion. These two are : 

 (1) reference to three species from the Palaus by Tanita in 1943, and (2) to 

 three species from Yap by de Laubenfels in 1949. 



Extensive assistance was furnished to me, for which gratitude is here ex- 

 pressed. The funds which made the investigation possible were provided by 

 the United States Office of Naval Research, and the whole project was spon- 

 sored by the Pacific Science Board of the National Research Council. The 

 United States Navy provided transportation and lodgings, and so (on a 

 smaller, but most interesting scale) did many natives of the regions studied. 

 In the field, in the Palaus, Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. R. Hill gave valuable 

 assistance, and in Guam, similar help was rendered by Mr. A. B. Bronson. 

 Collections were made at Bikini and Eniwetok by T. E. Bullock, J. P. E. 

 Morrison, W. R. Taylor, F. M. Bayer, and F. C. Zimmerman. Portions of 

 the drawings for the text figures were made by Mr. Evan Gillespie, who is 

 the artist for the biological departments of the University of Hawaii. Sec- 

 retarial help came from Mrs. Louise Morgan of Oregon State College, and 

 from my wife, Mrs. Beth J. de Laubenfels. 



The area here studied extends from 130° to 180° east longitude and 

 from the equator to 20° north latitude. These several millions of square 

 miles are chiefly open ocean but include four large groups of islands. In 



