THE SPONGES OF THE WEST-CENTRAL PACIFIC 163 



GENUS ECHINOCLATHRIA Carter 

 Echinoclathria waldoschmitti, new- 

 Text Figure No. 106 



This species is here represented by the following : 

 U.S.N.M. No. 23092, My No. M. 474, here designated as type, collected 

 August 17, 1949, by diver at Kuop Atoll near Givry Islet in the north- 

 eastern corner of the lagoon. The depth was 2 meters, and the substrate 

 was dead coral. 



The specimen is cylindrical, 2 cm in diameter and 18 cm high. 



The ectosome and endosome color in life was bright orange, and the 

 consistency was spongy. 



The surface is conulose, due to projecting fibers, 3 mm high and 3 mm 

 apart. There are numerous apertures in the surface, many of them as much 

 as 1 mm in diameter but some of various smaller sizes. It is not feasible to 

 discriminate between the exhalant and inhalant openings, because there is no 

 sharp differentiation in the size of these apertures. 



The ectosome is a fleshy dermis, but is closely attached to the underlying 

 tissues into which it more or less blends. The interior is a fibro-reticulate 

 structure with considerable protoplasmic material present. 



The skeleton consists of fibers about 200 /x in diameter, containing 

 spongin and spicules. As in all typical members of the family Ophlita- 

 spongiidae, the same type of spicules both core and echinate the fibers. These 

 spicules are styles or subtylostyles, 9 ^ by 280 /x, to 13 ti by 255 [x in dimen- 

 sions. The interstitial spicules are very straight smooth styles, or subtylo- 

 styles, 7 [x by 785 /x. 



It is here considered that this is the fourth species for the genus Echino- 

 clathria. The first, or type, was first described as Spongia leporina by La- 

 marck, 1814, page 444, and referred to this genus by Topsent, 1932, page 101. 

 Topsent properly dropped in synonymy to this the species described as Echino- 

 clathria tenuis by Carter, 1885, page 335, which had previously been the type. 

 Ophlitaspongia inornata, Hallman, 1912, page 265, also is transferred here 

 into synonymy to leporina. This species is Australian and is characterized 

 by coring spicules which are styles, 9 xx by 120 /x, and interstitial spicules, 

 very small, which are tylostyles, 2 xt by 200 /x. The second species is also 



Text Figure No. 106. Spicules of Echinoclathria waldoschmitti, X 182. A: Tylostyle of 

 the type which may be regarded as coring the fibers, or even as replacing the fibers. 

 B: Tylostyles of the sort which echinate the fibers, or echinate the longer spicules. C: 

 Slender spicules, perhaps to be called raphide ; probably they are juvenile megascleres. 



