dermal cavities are casily seen. The ostia very small, for the main 
part shut up; only in a few places it may be seen that 3—4 ostia 
lead into one subdermal cavity. On the biggest specimen pscula 
are found in a number of 
three, the two of them rather 
close by one another; the 
shape tolerably crescent, 
diameter 1,5—2 mm. Con- 
sistence rather soft, fragile, 
very little elastic. Colour 
grayish red. 
The skeleton shows a 
distinet tendency towards 
fibre-building,although such 
ones are far from beingwell 
developed, in so far as in- 
numerable spicules are 
breaking out from the fibres 
in all directions. Such very 
indistinet fibres are found 
partly parallel with, partly 
radiating in an almost right 
angle towards the surface, 
where they often form con- 
ical bundles of diverging 
spicules; it is, however, rather impossible to distinetly discern prim¬ 
ary and secondary fibres, as the picture has no clear outlines, on 
account of the numerous spicules scattered disorderly about. 
Spicules: (fig. 1 a—b), oxea, slightly bent at the middle, of 
moderate thickness for the greater part, only the extreme V 4 Vs 
tapering to a fine apex; length varying from 312—380 p, length 
about 350 most common; thickness ca. 9 p. Numerous develop- 
mental forms are found. 
It has not been possible in the literature to find a description 
of any Halichondria-species which will suit this form. The nearest 
ally seems to be H. tenuiderma Ldbck., but in the first place the 
length of the oxea in H. t. is stated to vary up to as mueh as 
Fig. 1. Halichondria inermtans nov. sp. a, oxea, 
b, apex of oxea. — Fig. 2. Halichondria intermedia, 
nov. sp. oxea. 
