Hawaiian Sponges — DE LAUBENFELS 
249 
Ekman in his ''Zoogeography of the Sea,” 
page 19 and following, summarizes faunal 
relationships for the Hawaiian Islands as em- 
bodied in the literature. He had no data for 
the Porifera, but had ample data for most of 
the other great divisions of the animal king- 
dom. He reveals a pattern of great resemblance 
between the marine invertebrate faunas of 
Hawaii on the one hand, and those of the 
Asiatic-Australian-East Indian regions on the 
other hand. The fish faunas show this resem- 
blance to an even greater degree. Other sources 
point to great resemblances between the 
floras of Hawaii and Asia. 
Endemic species are rather more prominent 
in the Hawaiian sponge fauna than in faunas 
of other animal (and plant) groups. The few 
exotic sponge species show astonishingly lit- 
tle relationships to faunas of Asia, Australia 
and the East Indies. Relationship between 
Hawaiian sponges and those of the Pacific 
Coast of the Americas is not great, yet it is 
the most nearly worthy of attention as in- 
dicating zoogeographic affinity. 
Could this American relationship be due 
to transport of sponges on ship bottoms? 
Sponges occur fairly commonly among the 
fouling organisms. With the possibility of 
transport in mind, studies were made of the 
bottoms of vessels in dry dock at Pearl Har- 
bor. The results were inconclusive, but not 
negative. It seems clear that on a long ocean 
voyage most of the sponges on the ship’s bot- 
tom perish, but a few might possibly survive. 
TAXONOMIC NOTES 
An important genus of Porifera has been 
known by the name of Heteronema , a name 
established by Keller (1889: 339). This name 
is even used in the author’s 1946 monograph 
of the order Keratosa. It should not have 
been used, however, because it was preoccu- 
pied in 1841 by Dujardin for a protozoan. 
The genus in question is characterized as 
resembling Spongia, but having foreign debris 
in the secondary fibers as well as in the pri- 
mary fibers. This also was the diagnosis given 
by Lendenfeld (1885: 543), to his then new 
subgenus Silicifibris of the genus Spongia , 
hence this Silicifibris warrants attention. 
The first species assigned to Silicifibris was 
the new species galea , here designated as the 
genotype. It was based on a macerated skele- 
ton of a vase-shaped sponge, 25 cm. in diam- 
eter and height, with a sharp edged rim. This 
shape, and all details of the skeleton as de- 
scribed, match the long-established genus 
Phyllospongia. 
The second species assigned to Silicifibris 
was Ridley’s Euspongia foliacea. In a personal 
communication, Dr. Maurice Burton of the 
British Museum states that foliacea is a syn- 
onym of Carter’s Coscinoderma lanuginosum , 
which has been transferred to Phyllospongia. 
The third and last species assigned to Sili- 
cifibris was silicata , new, which may have been 
a Dysidea. The subgenus (or genus) Silicifibris 
should be regarded as a synonym of Phyllo- 
spongia. A new name is therefore required for 
the genus Heteronema as above described: 
Inodes, new name for Heteronema Keller (1889: 
339). 
Genotype: Heteronema erecta Keller 1889, 
page 339. Sponges of the family Spongiidae, 
with all the fibers, both primary and secon- 
dary, containing much foreign debris. The 
name is based on a Greek word meaning 
"fibrous.” 
Two other similar corrections require at- 
tention. In a paper by de Laubenfels (1955) 
the generic names Walcottella and Waagenella 
are established. The first of these was pre- 
occupied by Ulrich and Bassler in 1931, for 
a crustacean. The second was preoccupied by 
Koninck in 1883, for a mollusk. New names 
are therefore required, as follows : W dlcottium 
new name for Walcottella de Laubenfels (1955 : 
82). Genotype Scyphia pertusa Goldfuss 1833. 
I V aagenium new name for Waagenella de 
Laubenfels (1955: 102). Genotype Steinman- 
nia salinaria Waagen and Wentzel (1888: 
979). 
