AKT. 4 SPONGES OF CALIFORNIA de LAUBENFELS 61 



numerous annulate filaments, the annulations being due to swellings 

 caused by spheroidal optically refringent granules. These structures 

 were about 3/x in diameter and of indefinite length. They may 

 have been elongate archaeocytes, but the most probable assump- 

 tion seems to be that they were (symbiont ? ) al^ae. 



Genus PRIANOS J. E. Gray 



PRIANOS PROBLEMATICUS de Laubenfels 



Prianos problematicus de Laubenfels, 1930, p. 26. 



HoIot'i/pe.—V.S.^M. No. 21484; B.M. No. 29.8.22.16. 



Ti/pe locality. — Two specimens were trawled on March 30, 1929, 

 by Prof. T. Skogsberg, at a depth of 15 meters, south end of 

 Monterey Bay, Calif. 



Description. — Shape, massive to lobate. Size, 1 cm high, 2 cm in 

 diameter. Consistency, stiff, slightly compressible. Color in life 

 and when preserved, pale drab. Oscules, round, flush; diameter, 

 about 2 mm. Pores, 200/a to 450/i. in diameter. Surface, super- 

 ficially smooth. 



Ectosomal specialization, a dermal membrane; this is not readily 

 detachable, is fleshy, and contains spicules strewn irregularly. En- 

 dosomal structure, " crumb-of-bread," with spicules in confusion. 



Principal spicules, strongyles (fig. 31, 

 A, B) ; size, 6/t by 135/a to 10/a by 140/^.. 

 Secondary spicules, oxeas (fig. 31 Z>, 

 E) ; size, 2ju, by 80/m to 2/x by 100/i, ; these 

 might be regarded as microscleres. 



Remarks. — The systematic position of 

 those sponges having spicules princi- figure 31. — pnanos problematicus 

 pally strongyle3 needs some explanation. %^^fT'Vi>llT af "S 



The first assignment of such was by mature a 

 O. Schmidt to his genus Reniera (1862, 



page 72), type species R. aquaeductus. Simultaneously he established 

 R. cratera^ which has a spiculation of strongyles only. Vosmaer in 

 1885 referred to this as genotype of Reniera^ but this can not be, as 

 Schmidt plainly stated in his original description that aquaeductus 

 is the type. Among other Renieras with strongyles may be men- 

 tioned R. anwrpha Schmidt (1864, p. 38), R. hehes Schmidt (1870, 

 p. 40), and R. crassa Carter (1876, p. 312), which may be a Strongy- 

 lophora (see below). 



The first genus created for sponges characterized by strongyle 

 spiculation was Prianos Gray (1867, p. 520) for Schmidt's Rerdera 

 annorpha (see above). This genus was regarded by Vosmaer (1885, 

 p. 234) as not separable from Reniera^ and it has therefore been 

 subsequently ignored and forgotten. Prianos aniorphus is not 



