NO. 17 NEW SPONGES— DE LAUBENFELS 23 



tempted to erect for it a new genus, but the spiculation and the minute 

 architecture are so nearly Hke Gell'wdes that we may use that generic 

 name for the present. 



Family HALICLONIDAE de Laubenfels 



HALICLONA Grant 



HALICLONA PELLASARCA, n. sp. 



Holotype. — U.S.N.M. no. 22336; from station 45, latitude 18° 13' 

 10" N., longitude 67°25'3o" W. to latitude i8°i4'3o" N., longitude 

 67°25'3o" W., February 13, 1933, 20 to 40 fathoms. 



The specimen as preserved is a lamellate structure with some faint 

 indications that it may have been a crust that was pried loose from a 

 substratum to which it had not made firm attachment. The size is i 

 by 5 by 8 cm. The color is dark drab to walnut brown, and the con- 

 sistency is softly spongy, easily cut. The surface is even, and the 

 pores and oscules dubiously made out ; there are minute openings, a 

 few of which reach the diameter of 500 fx. The internal structure is 

 fleshy, the dense protoplasmic ground mass containing an isodictyal 

 reticulation of spicules after the type sometimes called " renierid ". 

 Here and there are vague tracts of ascending fibers ; they consist of 

 scarcely more than three spicule rows and are about 1 5 |U, in total di- 

 ameter. The spicules are oxeas only, the size about 5 /a by 165 /x to 

 8 /A by 240 [x. 



This species is remarkable for the enormous quantities of dark 

 protoplasmic structure present, resembling in this respect a species 

 that may possibly be closely related. It was described as Amphimedon 

 variabilis by Duchassaing de Fonbressin and Michelotti (1864, p. 80) 

 and was preserved dry, which renders precise comparison difficult. 

 Its spicules were much smaller than those of pellasarca, being only 

 2 ixhy about 100 /x, and even so they are not certainly proper. Duchas- 

 saing and Michelotti 's specimen possibly may even be a keratose 

 sponge. On the other hand, it and H. pellasarca may be two variant 

 forms of one species. Since this is merely surmise without sound basis 

 of evidence, I describe the specimen as a new species. 



HALICLONA PODATYPA, n. sp. 



Holotype. — U.S.N.M. no. 22305. 



This and a similar specimen were collected at station 26, latitude 

 i8°3o'2o" N., longitude 66°22'o5" W. to latitude i8°30'30" N., longi- 

 tude 66°23'o5" W., February 7, 1933, 33 to 40 fathoms. 



