D4 BRITISH SPONGIADJE. 



will have to fall into this genus. They have all been 

 described as Pachastrellce. 



Dercitus monilifer (Schmidt), Coast of Algiers.* 

 exostoticus (Schmidt), Red Sea.* 

 abyssi (Schmidt), Florida, 228 fath.f 

 connectens (Schmidt), Florida, 7-J fath.f 



amygdaloides (Carter). $ 

 geodioides (Carter). 



intextus (Carter). 



parasiticus (Carter). 



Dercitus nigcr was described by Carter before the 

 third volume was published, and having nothing to 

 guide him but Bowerbank's description it appeared to 

 him to differ from Dercitus Bucklandi, with which, 

 however, it now seems to me quite clear that it is 

 identical. I am at a loss to understand how it is that 

 Carter, having clearly shown in 1871 that Gray's 

 genus Dercitus had priority over Pachastrella of 

 Schmidt, with w^hich he synonymised it, and then 

 adopted that name, should in his most recent paper 

 have rejected Dercitus, and adopted Pachastrella. 

 While we fully allow that it is to be regretted that the 

 name given by Schmidt, who had honestly and labor- 

 iously worked out a classification of the Spongizoa 

 should have to yield to one of those genera to which 

 Dr. Gray gave names without having done anything, 

 more than spending a few hours of closet work in the 



* Schmidt, ' Die Spongien der Kiiste von Algier,' 1868, p. 15. 



f Schmidt, ' Grunziige einer Spongien-Fauna des Atlantischen 

 Gebietes,' 1S70, p. 64, 65. 



+ This and the three following species, described by Carter as 

 Pachastrella, from the " Porcupine " Dredgings, will be found, ' Ann. 

 Nat. Hist.,' ser. 4, vol. xviii (1876), pp. 40610. 



