Sponges of Palau, I— BERGQUIST 
177 
are the spicules that project beyond the sur- 
face. Small centrally flexed acanthoxeas occur 
throughout the sponge, but are particularly 
abundant in the dermal membrane where they 
are oriented tangentially and form a marked 
crust 
SPICULES: Megascleres . (a) Long curved 
styles, 1900-3125 X 14.5 -17.5/a (2425 X 
1 6.4/*). These spicules occur at the center of 
all spicule tracts and usually extend outward 
through a surface conule surrounded by fine 
oxeas. .(b) Stout oxeas, 1025-1150 X 16- 
20.8m, forming the bulk of the spicule tracts, 
(c) Slender, centrally-angulate oxeas generally 
disposed in subdermal tufts and piercing the 
surface around a large central style; 650-912 X 
5.5-6.8/a (792 X 6.2/a). 
Microsderes. Abundant acanthoxeas, finely 
spined, centrally-angulate often with a central 
belt of slightly larger spines. Frequent smooth 
spicules of similar dimensions occur; these are 
always centrotylote; 62.5-200 X 2-4.5/a (132 
X 3.6/a). 
DISCUSSION: This specimen compares in de- 
tail with Dendropsis mixta Hentschel. Hallmann 
(1917) has put forward a convincing argu- 
ment for merging Dendropsis and Higginsia 
Higgin and his nomenclature is adopted here. 
Burton (1959:256) has published a key to the 
species of Higginsia in which H. mixta is listed 
as having "main megascleres seldom exceeding 
0.9 mm in length.” Both HentscheFs specimen 
and the Palau specimen have two categories of 
megascleres, including the principal oxeas, 
which regularly exceed 1 000ft in length. 
DISTRIBUTION: Am Islands (Hentschel). 
GENUS Myrmekio derma Ehlers 
Myrmekioderma granulata ( Esper ) 
Fig. 21a, b 
Alcyonium granulatum Esper, 1830, p. 71, pi. 
XXIV. 
Myrmekioderma granulatum Ehlers, 1870, p. 
28. 
Acanthoxifer ceylonensis Bendy, 1905, p. 
157, pi. IX, fig. 5. 
Acanthoxifer ceylonensis Bendy, 1922, p. 
129. 
Myrmekioderma granulatum Burton, 1937, 
p. 39, pi. VII, fig. 42. 
Fig. 21a. Myrmekioderma granulata (Esper). Sta. 
594, Ifaluk. 
Myrmekioderma tylota de Laubenfels, 1954, 
p. 119, fig. 74. 
Myrmekioderma granulata de Laubenfels, 
1954, p. 121, fig. 75. 
Neoprosypa atina de Laubenfels, 1954, p. 190, 
fig. 127. 
Acanthoxifer fourmanoiri Levi, 1956, p. 5. 
Myrmekioderma granulata Levi, 1961, p. 14, 
fig. 17. 
OCCURRENCE: Sta. 100, 220A, 59 Palaus; 
142, 155-157; 594 Ifaluk. 11 
DESCRIPTION: This sponge is massive to en- 
crusting, occurring usually as a thin crust over 
coral or growing inside bivalve shells. The only 
11 Station data for Ifaluk localities: 142. Oct. 20, 
1953. Lagoon ward reef margin. West reef between 
Elargalap and NW end of Falarik Island. Depth 1 
fathom. 155-157. Oct. 23, 1953. Lagoonward reef 
margin. SW reef. Transect E. between Elangalap islet 
and Ella islet. Depth 1 fathom. 594. Oct. 7, 1953. 
Ifaluk lagoon near the pass. 
