Sponges of Hawaii — De Laubenfels 
265 
There are now many names in the genus 
Spirastrella, and the opinion is here expressed 
that all the massive or ramose forms need to 
be removed to other genera, such as Antho- 
sigmella. The remainder, all incrusting forms, 
are all much alike and require separation on 
slender margins of difference. It is here con- 
sidered probable that there really are about 
six species in the world. This new species, 
keaukaha, is distinctive for the dark sub- 
dermal layer (not quite always present) and 
the almost straight axis of the spirasters. 
The species name selected is that of the 
locality of the type specimen. 
Terpios zeteki de Laubenfels 
Described in de Laubenfels (1950: 28). 
This species appears to be very common 
throughout the Hawaiian Islands. I found it 
to be abundant, not only on Oahu, but also 
at Kaalualu and at Honaunau in 1948. 
Tethya diploderma Schmidt 
Described in de Laubenfels (1950: 30). 
This species appears to be abundant 
throughout the Hawaiian Islands. I found it 
to be so on Oahu and also found specimens 
at Kaalualu and Honaunau in 1948. Hiatt 
found it at Halape in 1945. 
Myriastra debilis Thiele 
Fig. 14 
This species is represented by U. S. 
National Museum, Register Number 22789 
(My No. H. 71), collected in August, 1945, 
by R. W. Hiatt at Halape. It was growing on 
dead coral in the surf area. 
This species is massive, reaching a thick- 
ness of at least 1 cm. In life it was pale and the 
consistency was cartilaginous. The surface is 
partly smooth and partly hispid, and the 
Hawaiian specimens appear lipostomous. 
The ectosome is vaguely corticate, the en- 
dosome is semi-radiate. Presumably all well- 
developed specimens will be definitely corti- 
cate and of radiate architecture with the 
spicules all more or less perpendicular to a 
spherical surface. 
___ A 
4 ? 
Fig. 14. Myriastra dehilis: spicules, from camera 
lucida drawings. A, Oxea; B, plagiotriaene; C, head or 
cladome of a plagiotriaene; D, three oxyeuasters. (The 
smaller scale matches A and B, showing 100 microns 
by tens. The larger scale matches the more highly 
magnified C and D, showing 100 microns by. tens.) 
The skeleton consists of very numerous 
spicules, often in confusion, but many are 
perpendicular to the surface. There are 
smooth, sharply pointed oxeas 18 by 720 /t. 
There are plagiotriaenes with rhabds 16 by 
320 11 and very short clads; the latter are often 
less than 32 ix long. Some broken bits of long 
thin spicules, only 2 or 3 m in diameter, are 
here interpreted as being fragments of the 
rhabds of anatriaenes whose cladomes (not 
found) formerly protruded from the surface 
but have been broken off. The microscleres 
are oxyeuasters about 10 fi in diameter. They 
are astonishingly rare. 
Thiele (1900: 25) described Myriastra 
dehilis from the East Indies. He did find the 
anatriaenes, but their absence from the Ha- 
waiian specimen does not necessarily mean 
that it is not the same species. Thiele’s speci- 
mens agreed with ours in lacking the pro- 
triaenes and in having similar short- clad 
plagiotriaenes and microscleres. 
Geodia gibherella new species 
Fig. 15 
The type specimen of this species is U. S. 
National Museum, Register Number 22778 
(My No. H. 66), collected in August, 1945, 
by R. W. Hiatt at Halape. It was found at a 
depth of 3 meters on a coral "head” in the 
channel between the steep shore and a small 
off-shore island. This species seems to be 
uncommon in the Hawaiian Islands. 
