Sponges from Funafuti. 355 



Blightl}- ciuvLil ; head faintly trilobed, 12 /tt in breadth (one 

 h>rge tylote 1290X IT) fx was present on the microseopic slide). 



MitMOScIeres : discasti-rs, 54 fi in lenj^th, straight or 

 slightly curved, shaft spinose, tylote ; disks concave above, 

 convex below, with thick Sj)inose rims; upi)cr disk 19 /x, 

 lower 26 /A in diameter. 



Small nail-shaped tylotes, 120 x /x, straight, ending in a 

 very sharp point, with double iii-ad 11 /x in breadth. 



Carter gives a figure of a discaster (2, |>. 358, pi. xxix. 

 fig. 20) obtained by iiim from the debris of the root-tutt of 

 Evplectella cucumer from the Comoro Islands, which closely 

 resembles the discaster of the new species. 



LocaVity. W. of Tutanga, Funafuti, <SG fatli. 



Tedania levis, sp. n. (PI. XIV. fig. 4, a-e.) 



Sponge forming a pale slate-coloured crust about 10 millim. 

 in area and "5 millim. in thickness, on a nodule of coralline. 



Surface smooth ; no oscules or pores visible; consistence 

 firm. 



Skeleton. — Dermal : a felt-like network of tangentially 

 arranged, contorted, sj)ined strongyles. Choanosomal : a 

 rather dense mass of contorted spined strongyles, occasionally 

 with a tendency to unite into bundles ; also scattered smooth 

 St) li (rather rare) and scattered smooth strongyles (rather 

 rare). Trichodraginata and rhaphides abundant, the former 

 being cylindrical and frayed at the ends. 



Spicules. — Sj)ined strongyles 250 to 300 fj, in length and 

 3 to \2 fi in breadth, the dermal spicules being the more 

 slender. Styles smooth, straight, or slightly curved, 245 to 

 13^0 /jl in length and 4 to 12 /i in breadth. Smooth stron- 

 gyles straight, averaging about 1085 by 12 /x. 



Khaj)hides 150 to 200 //, in length and about 1 p, in thick- 

 ness ; trichodragmata 150 to 200 fi in length and about 6 to 

 12 fjL in thickness. 



The new species, which is only placed in Tedania pro- 

 visionally, should probably come under a new genus near 

 2'edariia, but diflering from it in having spined diactinal 

 niegascleres in the choanosome. The contorted megascleres 

 call to mind those of certain Axinellid sponges. 



Locality. Fuafatu, 50-70 fms. 



ChondKOPSIS, Carter (6, p. 11'2). 

 Chondropsi.i ceratosus^ sp. n. (PI. XV. fig. 3, a-c.) 



Two specimens. Sponge incrusfing. Colour reddish 

 brown ; texture soft and elastic. 



