22 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 9I 



Quite a few species are referred to the genus Inflatella, practically 

 all representing Arctic or Antarctic specimens and all having spicules 

 more than twice as large in each dimension as those of hartschi. Very 

 probably all these other described species are synonymous and should 

 have as their name Inflatella pellicula, the genotype, which was first 

 described by Schmidt (1875, p. 117). The Antarctic specimens may 

 perhaps be separated from the Arctic ones on the strength of more 

 elaborate architecture, in which case they should be referred to as 

 Inflatella tnhulosa, which was first described as loyeuxia tubulosa by 

 Topsent (1904, p. 206). 



Named for Dr. Paul Bartsch, director of the expedition. 



Family DESMACIDONIDAE Gray 



GELLIODES Ridley 



GELLIODES LEUCOSOLENIA, n. sp. 



Holotype. — U.S.N.M. no. 22378; from station 102, latitude 18° 50' 

 30" N., longitude 65°43'oo" W. to latitude i8°Si' N., longitude 

 64°33' W., March 4, 1933, 90 to 500 fathoms. 



This is a massive sponge i by i by 2 cm and nearly white. The con- 

 sistency is soft. The pores and oscules could not be made out. The 

 surface is superficially smooth, although made up of erect spicules, 

 packed together perpendicularly to the main mass. The outstanding 

 characteristic of this sponge is the peculiar structure, which is much 

 like that of the calcareous genus Leiicosolenia Bowerbank. The entire 

 sponge consists of a mass of frequently anastomosing tubes, each a 

 little over i mm in diameter, the walls being compounded out of more 

 or less reticulate fibers, each 100 /x in diameter, and rendering the walls 

 about this same thickness. So many of these tubes come up to an end 

 at the surface that it is rendered papillate ; at the surface these struc- 

 tures are usually about 400 fx in diameter. The meshes enclosed be- 

 tween the tubes vary greatly in size, but average approximately i mm 

 in greatest diameter and are rather rounded in outline. The spicules 

 are oxeas 9/x by 140 fi, and not only densely crowd the fibrous tracts, 

 but are packed in the soft parts around the fibers, perpendicular to 

 them, leaving little room for any flesh whatever. There are, however, 

 cavities here and there, which are presumably flagellate chambers. 

 They are 20 /* by 35 /* to 45 yu, by 65 ft in dimensions. The microscleres 

 are sigmas of some variation in size, but averaging about 40 /u. chord. 



This is a strongly marked species ; there is no other Gelliodes even 

 remotely resembling it ; in fact, the habitus is so peculiar that one is 



