THE SPONGES. 7 



Q 



MELITTIONIDAE Zittel. 

 Aphrocallistes Gray. 



1858. Aphrocallistes Gray, 1858, p. 114. 



1887. Aphrocallistes Gray, Schulze, 1887, p. 310. 



1899. " « , Schulze, 1899, p. 110. 



Aphrocallistes vastus F. E. Schulze (sp. ?). 



1887. Aphrocallistes vastus Schulze, 1887, p. 317, Plate LXXXV. 

 1899. " " Schulze, 1899, p. 86, Taf. XVIII. Eig. 3. 



Station 3370, 1 specimen. 



The specimen is a plate-like fragment including only the dictyonal 

 framework. I have compared the fragment directly with specimens iind 

 preparations of Aphrocallistes vastus F. E. Sch., and find an essential agree- 

 ment between it and the dictyonal framework of this species. Neverthe- 

 less, owing to the absence of the free spicules, the identification must be 

 regarded as uncertain. 



The plate is about 5 mm. thick, and the radial canals something over 

 1 mm. wide. The skeletal beams are mostly 80-100 /a thick ; meshes of 

 the lattice-work frequently rectangular and measuring commonly 200 /u, x 

 200 fx to 680 /x X 425 />t, larger sizes not infrequent. The axial canals are 

 arranged in the several ways described by Schulze (1887, p. 318). In 

 these points there is agreement with A. vastus. In some minor features 

 there is not agreement. Thus the beams are smooth, and the spines 

 (pegs) are shorter and stouter than is the rule in A. vastus, also less abun- 

 dant. The specimen has apparently long been dead, and the axial canals 

 are wide (0.2 to 0.3 diameter of the beams) and very distinct. 



The " Challenger " specimens of A. vastus were from Sagami Bay, Japan. 

 The "Albatross" specimens on which Schulze reports (1899) were taken 

 " along the whole west coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands 

 to the Bay of California " at 13 different stations. 



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