

THE SPONGES. 



75 



Schulze's American specimens (1899, p. 81) the beams are almost every- 

 where abundantly covered with fine prickles. In my specimens, in the 

 wall of the vase almost all of the beams are smooth, but beams abundantly 

 covered with exceedingly fine prickles are occasionally met with. On 

 the other hand, in the stalk beams densely covered with fine prickles 



predominate. 



In my specimens, as in Schulze's American specimens of C. calyx (1899, 

 p. 79), the dictyonal skeleton of the stalk (especially in its outer part) is 

 far more compact than that of the vase wall, and in this region large 

 numbers of the peculiar oxyhexacts are found, the rays of which bear small 

 transverse spines. 



The "Challenger" specimens of Chonelasma calyx were from Japan. The 

 "Albatross" specimens described by Schulze (1899) were taken at 9 differ- 

 ent stations off the west coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands 

 to the southern end of Lower California. 



Bathyxiphus F. E. Schulze. 



1899. Batht/xiphus Schulze, 1899, p. 82, Taf. XVII. XVIII. 



Bathyxiphus, sp. 



Plate 10, Fig. 2. 



Station 3380, 1 specimen. 



The specimen includes only the dictyonal framework. The 



arrange- 



ment of the beams in the framework and the shape of the body are, 

 however, so characteristic as to leave little room for doubt that the sponge 

 belongs in the genus created by Schulze for specimens taken in the same 



general locality as this. 



There is a basal disc about 55 mm. in diameter (Fig. 2, Plate 10). 

 From it a solid stem, which has a length of 120 mm., rises obliquely. 

 The stem at its very base is irregularly cylindrical, soon becoming lenticular 

 in section, with transverse axes of 12 mm. and 7 mm. respectively. The 

 stem above becomes gradually more compressed, being quite flattened at 

 its upper end, where it measures 15 mm. from edge to edge, and about 

 3 mm. in the short transverse axis. The flattened upper end is notched 

 in the middle, and is thus divided into two very short flattened diverging 

 lobes. These have rounded outlines, but as the specimen is somewhat 



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