114 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.81 



HALICHOCLONA GELLINDRA, new species 



Holotype.—\].^.'^M. No. 22063; B.M. No. 30.10.8.6. 



Type locality. — The holotype was collected by me at Carmel, Calif., 

 intertidal, on July 27, 1930. 



Additional- material studied. — At Laguna Beach, on March 14, 

 1926, I took a somewhat similar specimen with larger spicules, but 

 in very poor condition for study, as it was growing over the macer- 

 ated remains of a textraxonid sponge of radiate structure. This 

 specimen was designated Gellius {?) epocheommus in de Laubenfels 

 (1930, p. 28). It was so difficult to allocate, even generically, that it 

 could scarcely be regarded as a synonym of H. gellindra., but it is 

 not worth treating as a separate species because of its similarity to 

 gelliTulra. 



DesGription. — Shape, encrusting. Size, 2 to 4 mm thick, some- 

 what more than 4 cm- in area. Consistency, fragile. Color in 

 life, pale lavender. Oscules, few and irregular in shape, about 1 mm 

 in diameter, often with raised collars nearly 1 mm high. Pores, 

 abundant, 30/x to 50/i, in diameter. Surface, superficially smooth. 



Ectosomal specialization, a crust of tangentially placed oxeas, its 

 thickness being only about 20/i,. It is much like the ectosome of 



the genus Gellius, and also like that of 

 Hallchondria panicea; it is possible to 

 remove it in flakes with moderate ease. 

 Figure QS.-uaHchocionagei. Endosomal structure, oxeas in very regu- 



lindra, new species, X 300 ' . 



lar isodictj'al reticulation, united (by 

 spongin?) at their apices only. This is much like Gellius and 

 Haliclona. 



Principal spicules, oxeas (fig. 68) ; size, 3/* by 110/a to 4jit by 120/;i, 

 but the vast majority are very near to the latter size. The specimen 

 from Laguna Beach had spicules 8ju, by ISOju, to 10/x by ITOju,. 



Reviarks. — Haliclona is characterized by spicules of rather uni- 

 form size and by its reticulate endosome without trace of special 

 tangential dermal skeleton. 



Halichondna is characterized by its spiculation of most varied 

 lengths and by its confused endosomal structure with very distinct 

 tangential dermal skeleton. 



Gellius has the same sort of isodictyal endosome as that of Ilali- 

 clona^ with the special ectosome resembling Halichondna^ but has 

 microscleres, namely, sigmas. 



Halichoclona is compared to these three genera, but of the three, 

 the most closely related in my judgment is Gellius. Wlien I found 

 the Laguna Beach specimen aforementioned, I considered it a 

 Gellius that had lost its microscleres, it being in rather poor condi- 

 tion if not actually dead, before collection. It also might have been 



