AET. 4 SPONGES OF CALIFORNIA DE LAUBENFELS 29 



Other records. — Lendenfeld describes as varieties of this species 

 other specimens from Vancouver Island to southeastern Alaska. 



Descriptio7i (after Lendenfeld). — Massive, 10 by 16 by 43 mm, 

 dirty white. The surface was covered by a monaxonid sponge, but it 

 ^hows indications of a spicule plush broken off. The efferent and 

 afferent openings are chones. The cortex, largely sterraster armor, 

 is about 1 mm thick. Spicules: {a) Endosomal oxeas up to 0.04 to 

 0.08 by 2.5 mm; {h) plagiomonaenes, rhabds 0.026 to 0.042 by 2.1 

 mm; (c) sterrasters, 0.88 by 0.18 to 0.13 by 0.237 mm; {d) strong- 

 ylospherasters 0.007 to 0.013 mm; {e) oxyspherasters to oxy(eu)- 

 asters, 0.009 to 0.038 mm. 



Remarks. — This form differs from the common California Geodias 

 by lacking the mesotriaenes, which might well be due to accident 

 in collection or misadventure to the growing sponge. It is signi- 

 ficant that the specimen had been overgrown by another sponge. It 

 also lacks anatriaenes. My observation is that their occurrence is 

 very patchy ; I found them in all my local specimens of Geodia., but 

 while in one they were abundant, in another it required careful 

 search to locate any. Its plagioclad spicules are never triaene, ac- 

 cording to Lendenfeld, but usually monaene or at most diaene. These 

 modifications are common in Geodias along with regular triaenes. 

 Its sterrasters are, according to Lendenfeld's statistics, definitely of 

 a larger size range than for Geodia Tnesotriaena. This, with the 

 other more dubious differences, leads me to treat this provisionally as 

 a separate species. 



Family STELLETTIDAE Sollas 



Genus GTELLETTA O. Schmidt 



STELLETTA CLARELLA de Laubenfcls 



Stelletta clarella de Laubenfels, 1930, p. 25. 



Uolofype—U.S.l^.M. No. 21488; B. M. No. 29.8.22.27. 



Type locality. — Pescadero Point, near Carmel, Calif., intertidal, 

 July, 1925, my collecting. Many specimens were examined, as the 

 species is abundant in the Monterey Bay Region. It is frequently 

 found under overhanging ledges near low-tide mark and seems al- 

 wa3^s confined to well-shaded locations. 



Description. — Shape, massive to encrusting. Size, up to 7 cm; 

 thick, spreading laterally indefinitely; I have seen encrustations of 

 this species over 40 cm in diameter. Consistency, spongy to carti- 

 laginous. Color in life and when preserved, white ; usually more or 

 less dirty. Thin sections cut tangent to the surface show it to be 

 packed with the cladomes of the dichotriaenes with the areas between 

 uniformly closed over by flesh. The pores are abundant, 50^ to 



