86 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 81 



This is interesting enough to warrant much further investigation, 

 but since 1926 I have been unable to locate any more examples of 

 this species. 



Genus TEDANIONE Wilson 



TEDANIONE OBSCURATA de Laubenfels 



Tedanione ohscurata de Laubenfeils, 1930, p. 27. 



Eolotype.—V.S.^M. No. 21494; B.M. No. 29.8.22.25. 



Type locality. — The one specimen is from my personal collection, 

 taken at Point Pinos, Pacific Grove, Calif., July, 1925, intertidal. 

 It was completely covered by a thin growth of a compound ascidian 

 of the family Diademnidae. 



Description. — Shape, amorphous. Size, 25 mm high, 5 cm in 

 diameter. Consistency, mediocre. Color in life and when pre- 

 served, drab. Oscules, slightly less than 1 mm in diameter. Pores, 

 not evident because of the overlying ascidian. Some of the open- 

 ings resembling oscules may really be inhalent. Surface, covered 

 as described above. 



C C 



Figure 50. — Tedanione ohscurata de Laubenfels, X300 



Ectosomal specialization, none. Endosomal structure, " crumb- 

 of -bread," with abundant scattered spicules in confusion. 



Principal spicules, tylotes to strongyles with heads microspined 

 (fig. 50, A, B) ; size, C/x by 200/x to 12(J by 300;u. Microscleres, rha- 

 phides (fig. 50, C) ; size, about 2/x b}^ 80ju,. 



Remarks. — In boiled-out spicule mounts one finds a few smooth 

 styles, not shown in the figure. As these are very uncommon and 

 do not show up in the sections of the sponge itself, they are prob- 

 ably foreign, yet they deserve mention. If they are proper, this 

 would be a Tedamia., having almost the entire sponge given over to 

 ectosomal skeleton. Since this specimen had the ectosome proper 

 replaced by the ascidian above mentioned, this is all quite puzzling. 



The nearest relative of this form seems to be T. wllsoni Dendy, 

 1922, from the Indian Ocean, which differs in having all its spicules 

 about half as thin as the California form ; it also had distinct tracts 

 and in general a more orderly structure. It, of course, was not com- 

 bined with an ascidian, but was a thin crust on a hexactinellid sponge. 



