﻿SPONGES.-H ALLMANN. o oq 



Carter's genus IJ'ilsoiiclla, ol which they include the type- 

 species, ir. aiistralieiisis. 



The following is a list, together with a resume of the chief 

 characters, of the hitherto described species known to me 

 which the genus JVilsouella (as defined) will include. Of these, 

 UUsotieUu australiensis, CJuthriopsanima lobosa, Clathria 

 pynimicld, ('. alata and C. dura are species with which I have 

 a direct acquaintance. 



WilsoncUa aimtniliciisis Carter, 1 as identified by Dendy and 

 by Whitelegge, is a massive or sub-massive sponge, with or 

 without lobations, often becoming somewhat compressed and 

 flabelliform in outline. The oscula are sometimes as much as 

 5 mm. in diameter. The skeleton is reticulate ; the fibres are 

 charged with abundant foreign particles. The non-accessory 

 megascleres are short slender styli, with a small area of spina- 

 tion at either extremity, 2 and measuring 120-160 f( in length; 

 and 4.5 ;( (though in some specimens much less) in maximum 

 diameter. They occur sparsely and sporadically in the fibres, 

 more plentifully in the ground substance, but are not so 

 numerous in either situation as the (accessory) acanthostyles. 

 The microscleres are rather abundant slender isochelae 

 palmatae 12 to 16 ji long, and comparatively rare slender tri- 

 curvate toxa about 50 to 80 p long, which often (at any rate 

 in Port Phillip specimens) occur in small clusters. 



ClaUiriopsamma lobosa, Lendenfeld'^ is a synonym of the 

 preceding. 



Clathria decumbens, Ridley.'' According to description, the 

 sponge is massive and sessile, with scattered oscula i to 4 mm. 

 in diameter. The coring spicules are slightly fusiform basally 

 spined styli, 150 to 175 x S-SP ^^ size; the largest acantho- 

 styles measure 90 x 8 p. The chelae are of two kinds, a 

 larger and a smaller, both palmate, but the latter with a more 

 curved shaft; lengths 21-32 ji, and 11 ,v, respectively. 



Clathria austraJis, Lendenfeld,^ is, according to its descrip- 

 tion, a JVilsonella. The sponge is flabelliform with a thick 

 lamella. The skeleton is a network in which onlv the main 



1 Carter— Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xvi.. 1885), p. 366; Deudy— Proc. Roy. 



Soc. Vict., viii. (n.s.), 1896, p. 33; Whitelegge— Eec. Austr. Mus., iv., 2, 

 1901, p. 84, pi. xi., fig. 12. 



2 The spicule is exactly similar to those of Clathria australiensis var. 



fivinulata, Hentschel (Fauna Siidwest-Australiens, iii., 1911, p. 375, 

 fig. 47a. b). 



3 Lendenfeld— Cat. Sponges Austr. Mus.. 1888, p. 227. 



4 Ridley-Rep. Zool. Coll. "Alert." 1884, p. 612, pi. liii., fig. K, pi. liv., 



figs, g, g'. 



5 Lendenfeld-ioc. cit., p. 222. See also p. 161 of the present Report. 



