96 THE SPONGES OF THE WEST-CENTRAL PACIFIC 



different families. The action here recommended is almost or quite impos- 

 sible to carry out at the present time, if ever, for the simple reason that the 

 vast majority of descriptions of sponges do not give data on the facts here 

 considered important. This is not to any great extent due to carelessness on 

 the part of the authors but is principally the result of the great difficulty in 

 adequately describing protoplasmic structures, even with freshly collected 

 specimens. It is, of course, far more difficult with specimens which have been 

 long preserved. 



GENUS PROTOPHLITASPONGIA Burton 

 Protophlitaspongia ada, new 



Text Figure No. 58 



This species is here represented by the following : 

 U.S.N.M. No. 23026, My No. M. 405, here designated as type, collected 

 July 30, 1949, by diver in northwest Ponape between the reef and the 

 shore. The depth was 5 meters, and the substrate was dead coral. 



The shape is ramose, with very many anastomoses between the branches. 

 The latter are about 15 mm in diameter and very commonly attain a height of 

 14 cm. The mass is often as large as 11 cm in diameter. This species is 

 rather common about Ponape, and some specimens were observed to be as 

 much as 50 cm high. 



The endosome and ectosome color in life was gray and the consistency 

 was spongy but afforded a very distinctive sensation to the fingertips, as 

 though one were rubbing sandpaper. A great deal of slime also was extruded 

 promptly upon handling. 



The surface is multiple conulose, the vague primary conules being in turn 

 secondarily tuberculate. Much of this roughness is due to the presence of 

 sand in the ectosome. The pores were closed in all specimens studied, and 

 many showed no oscules. On the other hand, many of the larger ones had a 

 very distinctive type of exhalant opening. There would be clusters of what 

 one might consider oscules, 6 mm in diameter — clusters 15 mm in diameter 

 with the central portion so sunken that this might be looked upon as but a 



Text Figure No. 58. Protophlitaspongia ada. A : Sketch of the entire sponge, X J ; this 

 is NOT a camera lucida drawing. B: Two of the spicules (hastate oxeas or "tornotes"), 



X 781. 



