4 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IV, January, 1950 
Fig. 1. Map of the island of Oahu showing Kaneohe Bay and Moku O Loe. 
October, 1948. About a dozen species of 
sponge were found to be fairly common or 
regular in occurrence in accessible locations, 
and a second dozen were found, but were 
rather rare and uncommon. It is certain that 
continued search would gradually but steadily 
build up this latter category to a total of at 
least 2 or 3 dozen. The same amount of 
effort and time expended on the Pacific coast 
of the United States, for areas of similar size 
and placement, would yield just about the 
same number and average size of specimens. 
The same may also be said for the coasts of 
England in particular and northwest Europe 
in general. In contrast, the Atlantic coast of 
the United States yields only half as manv 
species, but typical regions in the Mediter- 
ranean and in the West Indies yield half 
again as many species, and the individual 
colonies are many times larger. 
The possible faunal relationships of Ha- 
waiian species to those of other parts of the 
world are interesting. Of the 23 species here 
discussed, 12 (or more than half) are new 
species. Of the 12, 7 (or more than half) are 
new genera. This is not unexpected in view 
of the insular location. Of the species that are 
here identified with previously named forms, 
four are circumtropical — almost to be called 
cosmopolitan — two are East Indian, two are 
from the Pacific coast of Panama, the others 
are from scattered localities. The two Pana- 
manian forms conceivably may have been 
brought to Hawaii on ship bottoms; at least 
one of them is abundant on those that are 
dry-docked at Pearl Harbor. Conversely, 
they may have been taken to Panama from 
Hawaii. 
The study of sponges in the field is com- 
plicated nearly everywhere by the occurrence 
of certain species of ascidians of the family 
Diademnidae which closely resemble encrust- 
