194 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XV, April 1961 
items as minute differences in average length of 
spicule, and it may well be that they are really 
conspecific, although this is far from certain. 
From the majority of them the Puget Sound 
species differs in having considerably shorter 
spicules. Those of Europe and California, for 
example, are 140/x long, instead of only 100 ft. 
Xestospongia vanilla (de Laubenfels, 1930) 1932 
The specimen thus identified was found grow- 
ing intertidally on Brown Island, July 1, 1931. 
It is a thinly encrusting specimen, at most 2 or 
3 mm. thick, and spreading indefinitely later- 
ally. The color is a pale drab, and the consistency 
is almost stony hard. The surface is smooth and 
even except for the minute pores and an occa- 
sional oscule well under 1 mm. in diameter. The 
endosomal structure is very dense, the spicules 
being crowded close together, but permeated by 
canals which are arranged so frequently at right 
angles to each other that their pattern is that of 
a reticulation. The spicules are of one sort only, 
hastately pointed oxeas about 11 X 137/x. A 
few which are much smaller are possibly to be 
regarded as being not yet fully developed. 
This species was originally described by de 
Laubenfels (193$: 28) as Haliclona vanilla and 
was transferred by him (1932: 116) to the new 
genus Xestospongia with a fairly complete dis- 
cussion of the species and genus. The Puget 
Sound specimen is entirely typical, differing in 
no important respects from the common Califor- 
nia species. 
Sigmadocia edaphus (de Laubenfels, 1930) 1936^ 
Fig. 2 a 
The sponge so identified was collected on July 
3, 1931, being dredged from a depth of 15 m. 
in Peavine Pass. Large masses aggregating sev- 
eral handfuls, amorphous in shape, were taken 
at this time. The color in life was pale drab, 
almost white, and the consistency is stony hard. 
The surface is comparatively smooth; micro- 
scopically it is seen to be abundantly provided 
with pores only a little more than 100/x in diam- 
eter. The oscules average about 10 mm. apart 
and are nearly 1 mm. in diameter. The interior 
is rather dense, but is somewhat breadlike in 
structure, without any conspicuous reticulation 
of canals. They are united in a somewhat iso- 
dictyal fashion, that is to say, connected to each 
other at their apices in such a way as to make 
triangular or polygonal meshes. Those imme- 
diately at the surface placed horizontally make 
a network of even finer mesh than that of the 
endosome. The megascleres of this sponge are 
of one type only, oxeas approximately 22 X 
285 ix. There is also one type of microsclere pres- 
ent, a sigma varying from 40/x to 66ft in length. 
The Puget Sound specimen is in very com- 
plete agreement with the specimen described as 
Gellius edaphus by de Laubenfels (1930- 28) 
and discussed by him in more detail and com- 
pared to related species (1932: 111). The spe- 
cies was transferred to Sigmadocia by de Lau- 
benfels ( 1936^: 69). 
Lissodendoryx frma (Lambe, 1894) new transfer 
Fig. 1 ,A1,A2, A3 
The sponge thus identified was collected on 
July 3, 1931. It was dredged from a depth of 75 
m. near Turn Island. 
It is a compactly massive sponge, only 4 or 
5 cm. in greatest diameter and in life was a rich 
orange color. The consistency is firm, somewhat 
elastic. The surface is slightly tuberculate, but 
in general might be described as smooth, a very 
evident special dermal reticulation being fine 
grained. The pores are minute and the oscules 
are represented only dubiously by a few open- 
ings much less than 1 mm. in diameter which 
possibly were mere accidental ruptures in the 
surface. The interior is dense, provided with 
only a small amount of open space in the form 
of canals or gross chambers. The special dermal 
tornotes are hastately pointed tylostrogyles 7 X 
343ft. The principal skeleton is made up of a 
more or less confused dense mass of smooth 
styles, exceptionally large for this genus. They 
are 36 X 440 ft. The microscleres include arcuate 
isochelas of one sort, length 4 3 ft, and sigmas of 
one sort, length 30 to 3 2 ft. 
This species was first described as Myxilla 
firrna by Lambe (1894: 122). It may appropri- 
ately be compared to Lissodendoryx kyma de 
Laubenfels, 1930 (p. 27). This California sponge 
lacks the sigmas, and all of its spicules are 
notably smaller than those of frma. It should 
be commented, however, that kyma and frma 
are remarkable in the genus for the exceptionally 
