Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Original Description
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“Ophlitaspongia nidificata, sp. n.

Sponge massive, of an inverted pyramidal shape, sessile, narrow and contracted at the point of attachment. Surface uniformly coarsely spinous. Circular oscules (-7 mm. in diameter) on the upper surface, at the bases of the spines ; (pores closed). Subdermal cavities flat and shallow. Flagel­lated chambers diplodal. Colour dirty grey, the tips of the spines being yellowish. Consistence hard and tough.

Skeleton consisting of dense branching axes of styles cemented with spongin and echinated by smooth styles passing at right angles from the axis to the surface. Ecto­somal spicules in form of slender straight styles. Consider­able tracts of dermal membrane were devoid of these spicules.

Spicules.—Megascleres: large, straight, smooth styles, on an average about 1000 x 50µ. Also smooth curved kind, 625µ long. Ectosomal styles straight, smooth, tapering gradually to a point, 406 x 9µ.

Microscleres: toxa smooth, 638µ long, 6.25µ thick at the centre. These spicules occur in nests or groups of five to ten.

This new species comes well within the genus Ophlita­spongia, Bk., as emended by Dendy. 0. seriata, Bk., 0.sub­hispida, Carter, and 0. membranacea, Thiele, all have toxa, but the first and third species are encrusting, and the second has long slender branches.

Dredged off Coulman I., 100 fath.”

(Kirkpatrick, 1907: 311)