Hawaiian Sponges — de Laubenfels 
245 
Dorypleres pleopora new species 
The type of this species was dredged 19 
February 1948 at a depth of 50 meters, 3 
kilometers south of Pearl Harbor. A second 
specimen was dredged 10 April 1949 from a 
depth of more than 200 meters, near Kaena 
Point. The type specimen was a thin crust, 
but the second specimen was massive, 10X13 
X 16 cm. in size. Each was bright lemon yellow 
and each darkened noticeably, to a sort of 
olive green or drab, after two or three weeks 
of preservation in alcohol. The consistency 
was cartilaginous. The surface was uneven, 
rough, but not especially hispid. No obviously 
exhalant openings were evident, but especially 
on the type specimen there were numerous 
scattered conspicuous pore sieves. In them 
the openings were 4 X 50 to 50 X80 microns 
in size, and separated by narrow partitions 
only 40 microns thick. The ectosome contains 
more asters than the endosome; the latter is 
b # 
Fig. 14. Camera lucida drawing (X 635) of spicules 
of Dorypleres pleopora : a , One of the oxeas, shown com- 
plete, but in three sections; b, five of the asters. 
packed with oxeas in confusion. These are 
6 X 600, 8 X 600 to rarely 8 X 800 microns in 
dimensions in the type specimen, somewhat 
larger in the second specimen. The asters are 
of two distinct sorts. There are spherasters 
with many smooth, sharp rays, diameters 7 to 
20 microns, with all intermediate sizes. There 
are also oxyeuasters regularly 10 microns in 
diameter, with few, often only 6 or 8 rays. 
The type is to be deposited in the U. S. 
National Museum. 
The pore areas suggest those of the sponge 
described by Dendy (1916: 247) as Aurora 
cribriporosa , but that sponge had radiate sym- 
metry and a thick cortex, two sizes of oxeas 
(one huge) and much larger asters. It never 
belonged in Aurora , which is a choristid 
genus; nevertheless Aurora needs attention 
because the name was preoccupied in 1887 by 
Ragonot for Lepidoptera, hence the following 
action is taken here: 
Aurorella (new name) is here proposed for 
Aurora Sollas (1888: 187). The genotype is 
Stelletta globostellata Carter (1883: 353). 
The above-mentioned cribriporosa has been 
put in Rhabdastrella , and so has Diastra ster- 
rastraea , the genotype of Diastra Row (1911: 
301). Because of its sterrasters, it is here pro- 
posed that Diastra be restored to full and valid 
generic standing. On the other hand, Rhab- 
dastrella Thiele (1903: 934) is in no significant 
way different from Dorypleres Sollas (1888: 
426), and should be dropped in synonymy 
to Dorypleres. Within this genus the other 
species closest to pleopora is splendens de Lau- 
benfels (1954: 226) from Ponape. These two 
species have oxeas much smaller than those of 
the other species of the genus, and little or no 
radiate structure; they conceivably might be 
given separate generic standing. Dorypleres 
splendens was bright orange, and its micro- 
scleres were spined; furthermore, it did not 
have obvious pore-sieves. 
Erylus rotundus Lendenfeld 
This species was dredged 19 February 1948 
at a depth of 50 meters, 3 kilometers south 
Fig. 15. Camera lucida drawing (X 635) of spicules 
of Erylus rotundus\ a , Oxea; b, portion of a tetraxon 
spicule, only one of the four rays is shown complete, 
and one projects directly toward the observer; c, microx- 
eas; d, solenaster; e, variations of form in tylasters. 
