Note: Spongites Kützing (1841: 30) has usually been considered to have originally encompassed all nongeniculate corallines and hence to be superfluous. As shown by Woelkerling (1985), however, this erroneous conclusion is based on Kützing's later treatment (1843b: 386–387), in which he subsumed two older generic names, Lithophyllum Philippi (1837) and Lithothamnium Philippi (1837). Originally, Spongites comprised six new species, of which S. fruticulosus Kützing (1841: 33, `fruticulosa') was designated lectotype by Woelkerling (1985: 146), who examined the type collection of this species (at L). This examination revealed anatomical characters that closely ally Spongites with other genera of subfamily Mastophoroideae, namely, Hydrolithon (Foslie) Foslie (1909: 55), Porolithon (Foslie) Foslie (1909: 57), Neogoniolithon Setchell & Mason (1943a: 89), and Paragoniolithon Adey, Townsend, & Boykins (1982: 9). Woelkerling (1985: 150, table III) determined that three species previously assigned to Neogoniolithon (but not the type species) are referable to Spongites and implied that at least several more species would eventually have to be transferred from the former to the latter genus. After studying the type specimens of the type species of Neogoniolithon and Paragoniolithon, Woelkerling (1987b) merged the two genera. Similarly, after studying the type specimens of the type species of Hydrolithon and Porolithon, Penrose & Woelkerling (1988) merged these genera with Spongites. Those authors circumscribed Spongites to include also various species previously assigned to Pseudolithophyllum sensu Adey (1970). After further study, Penrose & Woelkerling (1992) concluded that while Hydrolithon and Porolithon are congeneric, the genus thus circumscribed should be kept separate from Spongites.
Lithothamnion decipiens Foslie, 1897: 20 (type locality: California, U.S.A. [San Pedro fide isotype in UC]).
Lithophyllum decipiens (Foslie) Foslie, 1900f: 71.—V. Krishnamurthy & Jayagopal, 1985b: 76, 78, figs. 1–4.
Spongites decipiens (Foslie) Chamberlain, 1993: 113.
INDIAN OCEAN DISTRIBUTION: India.