28 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 272 



Eunapius calcuttanus (Annandale, 1911) 



Plate 2, figures 7-9 



Spongilla fragilis var. calcuttana Annandale, 1911c, p. 96; 1918a, p. 212. — Gee, 

 1931e, p. 34; 1932c, p. 38.— Arndt, 1933c, p. 307.— Penney, 1960, p. 18. 



Material. — Type slide (IM no. P 43/1) and two syntype slides 

 (N. Gist Gee). 



Description. — Sponge, according to Annandale (1911, 1918), 

 apparently very similar in structure and consistency to E. fragilis. 



Megascleres slender, fusiform, and smooth amphioxea with rather 

 abruptly pointed and peculiar tips that almost invariably form some- 

 what lanceolate apical projections; length range 170-230 ju, width 

 range 6-11 fi. 



Microscleres absent. 



Gemmoscleres very slender and cylindrical amphistrongyla, covered 

 with small and regular spines throughout their length; spines on tips 

 of scleres recurved; length range 85-120 ju, width range 2-4 ;u. 



Gemmules spherical and small, diameter of inner gemmular mem- 

 brane 190-230 m; pneumatic layer well developed and thick, consisting 

 of large polygonal air spaces, and forming a continuous coat over the 

 gemmules; gemmoscleres embedded in this layer tangentially over 

 the gemmular membrane, and in an UTegular manner in the interstices; 

 foramen invariably tubular, porus tube conspicuously bent and long, 

 well projecting beyond surface of pneumatic layer. 



Distribution.— Apparently restricted to India. 



Color in life. — Light gray to light brown. 



Discussion. — An examination of the type slide from the IM 

 revealed the presence of two species, E. calcuttanus and E. crassissimus, 

 which accounts for some discrepancies in Annandale's (1911c) descrip- 

 tion. The syntype slides examined contain only spicular components 

 of E. calcuttanus and display the characteristic shape of the gemmo- 

 scleres, as well as the long and curved foraminal tube of the gemmules. 

 Annandale (1911c) described the latter as "usually long and bent, 

 but sometimes very short and quite straight," thus indicating that he 

 observed this condition in two quite different species on the same slide. 



Until additional material will be collected for a detailed study of 

 E. calcuttanus, it is thought advisable to raise it to full specific status. 

 While the morphology of this species and that of its gemmules show 

 close affinities to E. fragilis, the megascleres and to some extent even 

 the gemmoscleres are different enough to establish a ready discrimina- 

 tion of these two sponges. 



