461 
lophonopsis major nov. spec. 
(Fig. 18 a—h.) 
Stewart Island. Ca. 35 fathoms. Sand and mud. 20/XI.1914. 
Little Barrier Island. 30 fathoms. Shell bottom. 29/XII.1914. 
Colville Channel. 35 fathoms. Sand, mud. 21/XII.19I4. 
There are several specimens from both the North- and the South- 
Island, which seems to indicate, that the species may be found also 
in intermediate places at the coast of New-Zealand. The sponge 
is apparently enerusting when 
young, but more or less erect 
and branching when growing older; 
we have both enerusting specimens 
on shells, enerusting ones sending 
off an erect cylindrical outgrowth, 
and one beautiful branched spec- 
imen; this latter is the biggest 
one and attains a length of ca. 
65 mm; the branches are sub- 
cylindrical, often somewhat flat- 
tened at the apex, 5 —15 mm in 
diameter. The surface is smooth; 
the dermal-membrane tough, on 
account of the strongyla lying 
therein. Oscula few and scattered, 
on a level with the surface, ca. 0,8 
mm in diameter. Texture soft, 
elastic. Colour (both spirit and formaline) dark or even black, though 
a little lighter in the interior. The pigment is in sections easily 
seen as dark branched sacks. 
The skeleton is built up of smooth styli. Main skeleton typi- 
cally consists of stout primary spicula-fibres, ca. 65 p thick, run- 
ning up through the sponge and bending vertically towards the 
surface, connected ladderlike by transverse spicules lying in bundles 
of a few together; in this way a coarse reticulation is made up of 
rather square meshes, the sides of which are the length of one spicule; 
but this rather regular edification is disturbed by isolated spicules 
lying pell-mell, sometimes so densely, that they nearly extinguish 
the regular picture of the reticulation; the main fibres can, how- 
Fig. 18. lophonopsis major nov. spec. 
a. Styli. b. Subtylostylote. c. Acan- 
thostyli. rf. Tylota. e. Eiids of Tylote. 
/. Side-, g. Front-view of Anisochelae. 
h. Biiiocilli. 
