REPOKT ON THE MONAXONIDA. '209 



from the two stations, save that the variety, in so far as can be judged from the specimens 

 in the collection, seems to attain a greater size and altogether a much more luxuriant 

 growth than does the species ; possibly this is attributable to the higher temperature of 

 the water in which it lives. 



Zoc«%.— Station 209, January 22, 1875 ; lat. 10° 14' N., long. 123° 54' E.; 

 Philippine Islands; depth, 95 fathoms; bottom, blue mud; bottom temperature, 71°"0. 

 A large number of specimens. 



Subcrites senilis, Eidley and Dendy (PI. XLV. figs. 1, Iff, lb). 



1886. Suherites senilis, Ridley and I>endy, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 5, vol. xviii. \k 485. 



Sponge sessile, hemispherical, attached to a small stone (apparently a manganese 

 nodule) ; covered with very long, delicate, projecting spicules like a coating of grey hair,' 

 with a single, small, oscular (?) projection at the summit. Diameter about 8 mm. 

 (excluding the projecting spicules). Colour in spii'it (after drying) pale, greyish-yellow. 

 Surface very strongly hispid. Osculum (?) single, at the top of a small, chimney-like 

 projection. 



Skeleton. — Composed of great, radiating, divergent brushes of tylostylote spicules. 

 These brushes arise from various levels in the sponge, some from the base and others 

 from nearer to the surface, and their projecting spicules, many of which extend for a 

 millimetre or more beyond the surface of the sponge, give rise to its haiiy appearance. 

 Within the sponge itself the space (where such exists) between the radiating brushes of 

 spicules is filled up with a confused mass of shorter tylostylote spicules, which ap)pear to 

 be mixed up together without any pretence of arrangement. 



Spicules. — Megasclera (P\. XLiY . figs. 1, 1«, lb); of one kind only, but varying much 

 in size. The spicules of the radiating brushes are very long, straight and slender, slightly 

 fusiform, with very well developed oval heads and tapering gradually at the apex to a 

 very fine point (usually broken ofi"). These spicules may reach as much as about 3'0 mm. 

 in length with a diameter of about 0"019 mm. The shorter spicules are much more 

 distinctly fusiform than the longer ones, stouter in proportion to their length, wdth 

 narrow, constricted neck and almost globular head ; they are gradually and finely pointed 

 at the apex and often more or less bent near the neck ; length very variable, commonly 

 about 0"5 mm., sometimes less and often more, diameter about 0"015 mm., passing into 

 the larger forms already noticed. 



The most interesting points about this sponge are the great size of its spicules and 

 the very great depth (2050 fathoms) from which it was obtained. Unfortunately it was 

 put into a very small bottle with a bad stopper, and, though the bottle was bladdered 

 down, was completely dried up. Although it has no well-marked spicular cortex, yet this 



' Hence the specific name. 

 (zooL. oHALi.. Exr. — PART Lix. — 1887.) Nnn 27 



