Dysidea navicularis (Lendenfeld, 1888)

Dysidea navicularis is one of only three species described de novo from New Zealand waters, and the second species described from a harbour environment (Lyttleton Harbour). Lendenfeld established this species as the type of his new genus Haastia Lendenfeld, 1888, named for Lendenfeld’s late friend and famous New Zealand explorer, Sir Julius von Haast. This species also forms bunches of long, thin, cylindrical branches, about 15 mm thick, growing from an incrusting basal mass, height 150 mm. The surface has uniform conules, 1 mm high, 1.5–2 mm apart, and oscules are confined to summit of digitate processes. The sponge was described as pinkish-grey in life. Bergquist (1980: 482) considered Haastia navicularis to be, in every way, typical of the genus Dysidea . She retained the species name as separate because of the geographical separation of the type material in Lyttleton.