54 THE SPONGES OF THE WEST-CENTRAL PACIFIC 



Individual sponges may lack certain traits, just as individual ants may 

 lack wings, yet their genus and species may be sharply characterized by a 

 type of wing. For example, a special dermis may be proper to a certain 

 sponge genus ; but, for reasons which we do not well understand, some indi- 

 viduals of that genus may lose or fail to develop the dermis. Such indi- 

 viduals may be classified incorrectly as Haliclona. We should face the fact 

 that solitary specimens of Porifera, if lacking in distinctive characters, 

 should be regarded as unrecognizable. 



This same problem concerns microscleres. Some genera, such as Orina, 

 are characterized by certain types of microscleres. Yet, now and then an 

 individual Orina lacks microscleres and seems to be an Haliclona. Burton 

 of the British Museum, therefore, has recently dropped such genera into 

 synonymy with Haliclona, implying that it is a genus with microscleres, 

 which sometimes are not present in individuals. Orina answers to that de- 

 scription, but Haliclona does not. It must be repeated that for sound identi- 

 fication a series of conspecific individuals should be studied in the field. 

 Often this is impossible, but I have been able to study a number of clear-cut 

 Haliclonas in just this way. 



Problems in nomenclature also exist, as follows : 



The most ancient name involved is Rayneria, Nardo, 1833, page not num- 

 bered (column 519). Nardo said of it, "Aggregata polymorpha magis aut 

 minus porosa et foraminosa, tenacite fere nulla, facile digitis pulverizabilia in 

 sicco. Fulcimenta aculeiformia inconspicua simplicia, dispositione varia ma- 

 teriel animalis ope conjuncta ita ut pulpam uniformem praebeat." He de- 

 scribed no species. Therefore, by opinion 46 of the International Commis- 

 sion of Zoological Nomenclature it becomes a sacred genus. They say "if it 

 is NOT evident from the original publication of the genus how many or 

 what species are involved, the genus contains ALL OF THE SPECIES OF 

 THE WORLD which would come under the generic description as originally 

 published, and the first species published in connection with the genus be- 

 comes ipso facto the type." 



Several thousand species, in hundreds of genera, come under Nardo's 

 description. Any one of these may be designated as type and thus bring 

 Rayneria into use instead of the later, much used name. Very few sponge 

 generic names antedate 1833, yet only by appealing to one of these can later 

 good generic names be saved from the menace of the name which has been 

 hallowed by its lack, so far, of species. 



I, therefore, call attention to specimen number 23201 of the United 

 States National Museum, a sponge collected at Sanak Island, Alaska, by 

 V. B. Scheffer. It answers to Nardo's description of Rayneria; and, there- 

 fore, I designate it as type of that genus. It is a friable sponge with pores 

 and oscules, with the species name lacustris, and may temporarily be referred 

 to as Rayneria lacustris. But this species is also typical of the genus 



