172 
Fig. 23c. Mycale cavernosa n. sp. Spicules: 1, Sub- 
tylostyles. 2, Large sigmas. 3, Small sigmas. 4, Aniso- 
chelae. 3, Anisochela, face view. 
secondary fibres which run at an acute angle to 
the surface of the sponge. Often the primary 
fibres run -without branching to the surface. The 
details of branching and interrelations of the 
three orders of endosomal fibres are very diffi- 
cult to clarify owing to the excessive amounts 
of foreign matter present. 
spicules : Megascleres. Smooth, often slightly 
wavy or curved styles with a slight constriction 
of the shaft behind the head. The finer styles 
tend to be interstitial, the stouter spicules are 
contained in fibres; 262-351 X 0.8-8 /a (306 X 
4.2/y) „ 
Micros cleres. (a) Sigmas, of two size groups: 
(i) large stout C- or S-shaped sigmas with 
strongly reflexed tips; 92-105 X L5-5/a (97.5 
X 3.6/a), and (ii) small abundant C-shaped 
sigmas with sharply reflexed tips and one end 
rotated; 19-26.5/a (23ft). 
(b) Palmate anisochelae of two size groups, 
never arranged in rosettes: (i) larger, often 
with acutely recurved alae, the latter one-half 
to two-thirds the length of the shaft; 29-40/a 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XIX, April 1965 
(33/a), and (ii) smaller, extremely abundant 
with acutely recurved alae, rarely more than 
half the length of the shaft; 11 - 15 /a ( 13 . 5 /a). 
histology: Soft tissue is much reduced in 
this sponge except in the dermis, and the struc- 
ture and disposition of such tissues is masked 
by incorporated debris. 
DISCUSSION: Mycale cavernosa falls clearly 
into Topsent’s subgenus Aegropbila since it 
possesses a dermal reticulation of spicule fibres. 
It differs from all other members of this sub- 
genus in the combination of a relatively regu- 
lar dermal skeleton with comparatively small 
fine megascleres supplemented by extremely 
large sigmas. 
GENUS Neofolitispa nom. nov. 
Neofolitispa dianchor a ( de Laubenfels ) 
Fig. 24^, h 
Monanchor a dianchora de Laubenfels, 1935, 
p. 331, pi. 1, fig. 4. 
Folitispa pingens de Laubenfels, 1954, p. 159, 
fig. 104. 
Monanchora clathrata Levi, 1961, p. 135, fig. 8. 
OCCURRENCE: Sta. 59, 92, 100. 
description: Two specimens are erect, lo- 
bate to massive; the third is encrusting with 
occasional low processes. 
dimensions (Table 10). 
COLOR: In life, scarlet; in alcohol, externally 
from pale fawn ( Y-R-Y 8/2-Y-R-Y 8/4) to 
greenish-yellow ( Y 5/4) and pale brown (R- 
Y-R 6/4) merging into greenish-yellow. In- 
terior, pale yellow-green (Y 7/4). 
TEXTURE: Compressible but tough; some- 
what slimy. 
SURFACE: Irregularly lumpy, the dermal 
TABLE 10 
SPECIMEN 
HEIGHT 
(cm) 
WIDTH 
(cm) 
THICKNESS 
(cm) 
SURFACE 
PROCESSES 
(mm) 
Sta. 59 
4.5 
2.0 
1.2 
up to 1 .0 
Sta. 92 encrusting 
— 
7. 0-6.5 
— 
up to 1 1 
Sta. 100 
4.0-6. 5 
9.5 
3.5 
1. 5-6.0 
