218 THE SPONGES OF THE WEST-CENTRAL PACIFIC 



The difficulty of ascertaining relative or actual abundance of species of 

 Cliona has already been discussed. It was at least moderately common in 

 the Palaus. 



The Clionas of the Palaus, here regarded as species schmidtii, are usually 

 brown, even in life. Typical schmidtii is described as being carmine red to 

 purple. 



The skeleton of these boring sponges from the Palaus consists principally 

 of tylostyles, 2 /x by 240 /x to 5 fx by 280 ti and often about 3 ti by 260 /*. 

 The microscleres are spirasters 35 ti to 42 ti long. Some of the shorter ones 

 are fairly thick and have a slightly spiral shaft. This is not typical of 

 schmidtii. Others are very characteristic of this species as originally described ; 

 a nearly straight shaft, on which the spines are arranged in a spiral. 



The species schmidtii was first described by Ridley, 1881, page 130, as 

 Vioa schmidtii and transferred to Cliona by Topsent, 1900, page 77 . It has 

 been hitherto reported from the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Australian 

 regions. 



Cliona euryphylla Topsent 



Text Figure No. 149 



This species is here represented by the following: 

 U.S.N.M. No. 23036, My No. M. 415, collected July 30, 1949, by diver in 

 northwest Ponape from the lagoon near the shore. The depth was 5 

 meters, and the substrate was dead coral. 



There were often as many as three galleries in one strand of dead coral 

 2 cm in diameter, the Cliona being about 2 mm in diameter. 



The color in life was dull orange. The consistency was soft. 



The skeleton consists primarily of tylostyles about 7 //, by 300 tt in 

 diameter. The microscleres are very thick spirasters. The central shaft has a 

 diameter of 4 ii to 8 /a and is only slightly undulatory or spiral. The spines 



O 



— i*> A 



Text Figure No. 149. Spicules of Cliona euryphylla, X 782. A: Tylostyle; the entire 

 spicule shows, but in two parts. B: First type of spiraster. C: Second, less typical, sort 



of spiraster. 



