8 
are spherical, about 25 g in diameter. The 
abundant fibers consist of nearly opaque, typ- 
ically rather granular spongin without for- 
eign inclusions. They are 15 to 30 g in 
diameter and enclose meshes often about 50 
by 200 g. The scarce ascending fibers are 
about 60 g in diameter, and contain a core 
of fragments of spicules from neighboring 
sponges. 
Fig. 4. Fibers of Spongia Oceania from a camera 
lucida drawing, X 100- A > principal or ascending 
ing fiber; B, common fibers. 
No other species of Spongia has such nu- 
merous oscules of such small average size. 
A few such small ones may occur here and 
there in other species but as a rule the oscules 
are large, often nearly 10 mm. in diameter, 
and many centimeters apart. Only a few other 
Spongia specimens are as hard as Oceania , and 
in each such case it appears decidedly possi- 
ble that the hardness is due to some local 
environmental condition. The hardness of 
Oceania may be a specific character. It would 
be interesting, however, to see if soft varie- 
ties, imported from elsewhere, would con- 
tinue to grow soft in Hawaii. The commer- 
cial possibilities of Oceania do not appeal- 
great, but they do exist. 
The species name is given in respect to 
the location of this sponge near the center 
of the world’s largest ocean. 
The abundance of this species calls for 
special attention because it is almost, or per- 
haps could be, a commercial sponge. It is 
recorded that the ancient Hawaiians collected 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IV, January, 1950 
and used dried specimens, but to only a slight 
extent. Wet specimens feel somewhat like 
the usual commercial sponges, and I have 
used a locally collected sponge in a very prac- 
tical way in my laboratory. Yet even when 
wet it is somewhat difficult to compress, and 
when dry it is almost as stiff as wood. The 
commercial sponge Spongia officinalis variety 
dura from the West Indian region, known in 
the market as "hardhead,” is much like 
Oceania in consistency. The best Hawaiian 
sponges are scarcely third-grade by market 
criteria, but their ability to absorb and hold 
water (which may then be readily squeezed 
out) is quite good. They have a fairly small 
ratio of gross cavities, so that their chief fault 
is the unpleasant stiffness. 
I first collected this species in Kaneohe Bay 
(at Moku O Loe) on December 22, 1947, 
but the specimens from this vicinity were all 
small, thin encrusting forms, ill suited to 
reveal the typical characteristics. Mr. Vernon 
Brock collected the type specimen by "skin 
diving” and reported that at the type locality 
the bottom for perhaps as much as several 
acres was thick with spongias, scarcely a 
meter apart, and many of them were much 
larger than human head size. He brought up 
one specimen over 40 cm. in diameter. It is 
curious to note that there is probably a 
greater bulk of this species in the Hawaiian 
Archipelago than the total bulk of all other 
shallow-water Hawaiian sponges. Reports 
came to me of vast windrows of this sponge 
cast on the beach after storms. On January 24 
to 26, 1947, an unusually severe gale struck 
Hawaii and on January 28, I went almost 
entirely around the island of Oahu, examin- 
ing beaches along the south, east (wind- 
ward ) , and north shores. I found only a few 
small fist-size spongias cast up. Almost noth- 
ing else was cast up, however, so presumably 
the wave action of this storm was of some 
peculiar nature so that it scoured material off 
the beach rather than depositing it. Extra 
big deposits of storm-dislodged sponges are 
