514 



REVISION OF THE AXINELLID^E, U., 



another; as a rule, the fibres only of one of any two connected 

 components are thus prolonged. A feature not observed in the 

 skeleton of a separate digitation is provided by the fact that the 

 fibres proceeding surfacewards from some of 

 the more peripheral components (more espe- 

 cially from such as are situated not very close 

 to the surface) run in a more or less upward 

 direction (instead of perpendicularly out- 

 wards), and may thus attain a considerable 

 length, and may also several times branch (PI. 

 xxxi., fig.2). 



Spicules. — The spiculation is almost identi- 

 cally similar to that of A. plicata, not only as 

 regards the forms, but also the sizes, both of 

 the megascleres and microscleres,— the only 

 noteworthy point of difference in the case of 

 the present species being the much greater 

 in-egularity in the forms of the microstrongyla 

 and the frequency of occurrence among them 

 of spherulse. In all three specimens, the 

 mesascleres are of about the same dimen- 

 .sions, ranging in length from about 230 or 

 240/x (rarely, however, less than about 300/x) 

 up to 680/x, and having a maximum stoutness 

 of 16 or 17/x; the sigmata, which appear not 

 to be separable into two groups as regards size, 

 vary in length from 8 to 20/x, and up to 1 -5fi 

 in stoutness; the longer trichites attain a max- 

 imum length of 70/x, while the shorter ones 

 are rarely longer than 30/a: and the micro- 

 strongyla vary in diameter from less than 1 up 

 to 5 or 6/x, and in length up to 17 or 18/x. 



Allantophora ciocalyptoides Dendy, (et var.). 

 189&. Sigmaxinella ciocalyptoides Dendy(7), p.243. 

 Diagnosis. - Sponge in the typical form of the species incrust- 





\J 



Text-%.11. 



Allantophora victwiana. a, megascleres; b, c, sigmata; d, microstrongyla. 



