384 HYALONEMA (SKIANEMA) UMBRACULUM. 
2mm. thick. It has obviously been strongly compressed during or after capture, 
and I do not think that the living sponge, of which it once formed a part, was 
at all lamellar. The other specimen (fragment) is similar but much smaller. 
The colour in spirit is light brown. 
The skeleton is composed of superficial pinules, hypodermal and hypogastral 
pentactines, hexactine megascleres, choanosomal and superficial rhabds, acan- 
thophores, axial amphioxes forming an upper continuation of the stalk in the 
sponge-body, stalk-spicules proper, microhexactines, diactine microhexactine- 
derivates, and amphidises. The hexactine megascleres are exceedingly scarce. 
The superficial and choanosomal rhabds are for the most part centrotyle am- 
phioxes, but diactine tylostyles also occur among them. The microhexactines 
are abundant, their diactine-derivates very rare. The amphidises are of four 
kinds:— large and small macramphidises, and large and small micramphidiscs. 
The small micramphidises are remarkably scarce. 
The dermal and gastral superficial pinules (Plate 103, figs. 9-13) appear 
to be quite similar. All the pinules observed were pentactine. The distal ray 
is straight, 178-290 » long, most frequently about 240 u, and 4-11 » thick at 
the base. It ends with a rather long and slender spineless terminal cone, and 
its basal part is also free from spines. The middle-part of the distal ray is, for 
about two thirds of its length, covered with straight or slightly curved spines, 
which are strongly inclined towards its tip. The spines situated half way up 
the ray are the largest. The maximum thickness of the distal ray, together 
with the spines, is 27-40 4. The lateral rays are cylindroconical, blunt, spiny, 
and 28-48 u long. 
The rays of the hypodermal and hypogastral pentactines are cylindroconical 
and very blunt. In the intact pentactines observed the proximal ray is 370- 
480 » long, and 14-18 u» thick at the base, while the lateral rays attain a length 
of 120-240 »; however, judging from the fragments of larger ones found in the 
preparations, the rays of these pentactines must frequently attain a much larger 
size. The largest lateral rays of fragmentary pentactines observed attain 1 mm. 
in length and 70 » in thickness at the base. These very large fragments may, 
however, be parts of foreign spicules. 
One of the very rare hexactine megascleres measured is 480 » in maximum 
diameter, and has terminally rounded, cylindroconical rays 12 thick at the 
base. One of the rays of this spicule is considerably longer than the other four. 
The choanosomal and superficial amphiozes are centrotyle, 0.5—2.5 mm. long, 
usually 1-1.5 mm., and 11-264 thick near the centre. The central tyle is 14- 
