THE SPONGES OF THE WEST-CENTRAL PACIFIC 177 



southwest Ponape, province of Kiti, near Toletik Islet. The depth was 

 4 meters, and the substrate was dead coral. 



This sponge consisted of rounded masses slightly connected to each 

 other as though they had originally been separate but in growing larger had 

 touched each other and so amalgamated. Each of these masses is about 8 

 cm in diameter. 



The color in life blended, in various areas, from dull rose pink to dark 

 dull red. These areas extended down about 4 mm into the sponge but there 

 blended into an endosomal color of dull yellow. The consistency was stiffly 

 spongy. 



The surface of this sponge is like that in Higginsia, extremely compound 

 lumpy. In this complexity, the pores could not be found, but the oscules 

 were conspicuous, 6 mm in diameter and about 4 cm apart. 



The ectosome does not give evidence of any detachable dermis, but it is 

 denser in protoplasmic structure and also set off by color from the endosome. 

 The latter also is dense, however, and microcavernous — full of spicules in 

 confusion. 



The skeleton consists of long smooth oxeas. Many of these are 17 fi 

 by 730 ju., and so many are 5 /*, by 610 /x that this may be regarded as a second 

 category. A considerable number of intermediates exist, however. 



According to published descriptions, the genus Phycopsis is confined 

 to East Indian and Australian waters. It is founded upon the type specimen 

 Phycopsis hirsuta Carter, 1883, page 319, for which species spicule dimensions 

 are lacking. Carter describes it as "shaggy," and this leads one to believe 

 that he had a sponge with a surface somewhat like that of the present speci- 

 men. On the following page, Carter also established Phycopsis fruticulosa, 

 and again he does not give spicule dimensions. The other species which have 

 been referred to here have had spicules which were either far smaller or far 

 larger than those of terpnis, but an outstanding characteristic of the genus is 

 the extent to which all the -earlier species involved are rather ill-known or 

 inadequately described. 



The specific name here selected is derived from a Greek word meaning 

 "pleasing" and refers to the beautiful coloration of this species. 



Text Figure No. 116. Spicules (oxea) of Phycopsis terpnis, X 182. 



