iRT. 4 SPO^^GES OF CALIFORNIA DE LAUBENFELS 65 



Description. — Shape, amorphous. Size, undeterminable, because 

 •of concealment in hexactinellid skeleton. Consistency, fragile. 

 Color in life and Avhen dry, drab. Oscules, flush with the cloacal 

 surface of the hexactinellid, each almost filling the cavity left by 

 one of the hexact's oscules. Pores, not evident. Surface, super- 

 ficially smooth. 



Ectosomal specialization, a very thin, detachable, fleshy dermis. 

 It contains a few scattered microscleres. Endosomal structure, 

 short j)lumose columns or simple brushes of tylostyles, points toward 

 the surface, accompanied by a surprisingly small quantity of proto- 

 plasmic material. 



Principal spicules, tylostyles (fig. 33, -4, 5) ; size, about 15/i by 600/^. 

 Microscleres, sigmas (fig. 33, D) ; length, about 60/i. 



Figure 33. — Desmacella vagabunda Scbaiidt, X300. C, an unusual 

 modification of tbe head of the megasclere 



Remarls. — Schmidt's Desmacella vagahunda was very briefly 

 ■described. The sponge now under discussion offers so little material 

 for examination that it can only be said to be imperfectly known. 

 It seems better to identify it with vagahunda than to establish 

 a new species for it, because all that we know of it agrees suffi- 

 ciently well with what we know of vagahunda to make it probable 

 that they are conspecific. 



ZYGHERPE, new genus 



This genus is of the family Desmacidonidae and is close to 

 Desmacella^ from which it differs chiefly by the addition of the 

 diancistra to the other skeletal elements. Genotype : Zygherpe hya- 

 lodernia, new species. 



ZYGHERPE HYALODERMA, new species 



Holotype.—lJ.S.'^M. No. 22060; B.M. No. 30.10.8.3. 



Type locality. — The holotype was collected by me on July 13, 

 1930, at Point Lobos, intertidal, south of Carmel, Calif. The en- 

 crustation carpeted a rock on the floor of a grotto, which was in- 

 accessible except at very low tide. 

 107704—32 5 



