﻿SPONGES.-HALLMANN. 



^n 



Sponge massive or branched, commonly grooving upon 

 the shell of a Pecten. The superficial lamellce present 

 their edges to the exterior, jornjing cells of irregular, 

 often elongate and meandrine, shape; these cells vary in 

 width, in any given specimen, from about 2 to 6 mm. 

 The main fibres are sparsely cored; the connecting fibres 

 are usually aspicidous. Echinating spicules are not 

 wholly confined, as is usually the case 

 in other species, to the external aspect 

 of the superficial connecting fibres. 

 Auxiliary spicules moderately abun- 

 dant. Megascleres : — {i.) Principal 

 styli straight, fusiform, with greatest 

 diameter about the middle of their 

 length — size, 75-10^ x 5 n; (ii.) aux- 

 iliary strongyla ranging in length 

 from [rarely less than) IJ5 to I'jo p, 

 and seldom as much as 1.5 ji in dia- 

 meter. Microscleres :^ — Isochelce pal- 

 matce, scarce, of extreme tenuity, 8 to 

 7 2. 5 jt long. 



Four specimens of this species were 

 obtained, all of which encrust the shells of 

 living- Pectens. They very closely re- 

 semble in external appearance the speci- 

 men shown in PI. xxxi., fig. 4, of the 

 "Challenger" Report. There is nothing 

 of importance that I can add to Ridley 

 and Dendy's description except that I 

 have found the auxiliary spicules to be 

 invariably strongyla. 



Locs. — Bass Strait, off Moncceur Is- 

 land, 38 fm. ("Challenger"); off Devon- 

 port, Tasmania ("Endeavour"). 



ECHIXOCLATHKIA RAMOSA, Sp. nov. 



(Plate xxx., fig. 3, and fig. 62.) 



igoi. Echinoclathria macropora, VVhitelegge, Rec. Austr. 

 Mus., iv., 2, 1901, pp. 89, 117. 



[Not Plectispa macropora, Lendenfeld, Austr. Mus. 

 Cat. Sponges, 1888, p. 226.] 



[Not Echinoclathria macropora, Whitelegge, Austr. 

 Mus. Mem., iv., 10, 1907, p. 504.] 



Shrubby substipitate sponges, with short cylindrical or 

 but slightly compressed branches {averaging about 10 

 mni. in diameter) which multiply dichotomously and 



Fig. 61 — E.favus. 

 a Principai style. 

 b Auxiliary stron- 

 gyle. (Chela not 

 figured.) 



