Hawaiian Sponges — -DE Laubenfels 
243 
There are also present microscleres that are 
intermediate between typical spirasters and 
the peculiar forms. 
There are two species already in Anthosig- 
mella , each widely distributed. The first was 
described as Thalysias varians by Duchassaing 
and Michelotti (1864: 86), and was made the 
type of Anthosigmella by Topsent (1918: 557). 
This sponge is abundant throughout the West 
Indian region. The second species was de- 
scribed as Spirastrella vagabunda by Ridley 
(1884: 468). It is abundant throughout the 
Indian Ocean, East Indies, Philippines, and 
the islands of the West Central Pacific. In 
comparison to these, valentis is distinctive for 
its extensive content of sand. In its smallness 
of oscule it is more like varians than vaga- 
bunda , and its microsclere shape is more like 
that in varians , but the microsclere size is even 
smaller than in vagabunda , which in turn 
averages smaller than in varians . Valentis is a 
Latin word meaning ' 'vigorous, valiant, 
healthy.” 
Prosuberites oleteira new species 
This species was collected 29 March 1948 
on the Naval dry dock at Pearl Harbor. It was 
placed so as to be generally two or more 
meters below the surface, but would occa- 
sionally be out of water entirely, as at the 
time of collection. It occurred in at least three 
different places on the dock. Another spec- 
imen was dredged 14 February 1948 from 18 
meters depth, south of Diamond Head 
(Honolulu). 
This is a paper-thin sponge, of a vivid dark 
yellow color, verging toward orange, smooth 
to the naked eye, lipostomous and softly 
colloidal. Extensive subdermal spaces are 
present. The skeleton consists of tylostyles 
with rather flat heads, many are about 7 X 230 
microns in size, but there is variation; some 
are nearly twice that length. There is a ten- 
dency for these spicules to be placed erect, 
heads at the substrate and points up and out. 
The flesh is so thin, however, (50 to 150 
a a . b 
Fig. 12. Camera lucida drawing (X 635) of spicules 
of Prosuberites oleteira : a , Commonplace tylostyle; b, 
head only of a somewhat unusual sort that is common 
in this species. 
microns only) that the longer spicules merely 
lie in confusion. 
The type is to be deposited in the U. S. 
National Museum. 
The genus Prosuberites is a puzzling one. 
Burton (1934: 316) would drop all of it, and 
all of Protosuberites in synonymy to Suberites , 
assuming that the former two consist only of 
juvenile Suberites. The typical Prosuberites , how- 
ever, has spicules far larger than those of 
Suberites , and (more important) does not have 
special dermal smaller tylostyles. There is 
good evidence that some of Prosuberites , like 
the Hawaiian sponge now being discussed, 
persistently remain encrusting, growing only 
laterally once they are established. 
As for Protosuberites , there are only two 
species firmly placed therein, each established 
by Swarchewsky (1905: 36), and neither one 
satisfactorily described. Neither they nor the 
characters of the genus are adequately known. 
It is probably a synonym, perhaps of Pseudo- 
suberites , but now has uncertain status. 
In Prosuberites , there are now three names, 
established for Japanese sponges by Thiele 
(1898: 40); these are sagamensis , exiguus , and 
inconspicuus. All three are described with ex- 
cessive brevity and must be regarded as ill- 
known. There seems to be, however, no clear 
reason for differentiating them from one an- 
other, and all seem to be juvenile Suberites; all 
three are here regarded as being Suberites saga- 
mensis. Alcyonium epiphytum Lamarck (1815: 
163) is also here transferred to Suberites , being 
a juvenile. 
In Prosuberites there are now six species with 
relatively huge spicules. These spicules, how- 
ever, differ radically in proportions from one 
