BY R. VON LENDENFELD, PH.D. 483 



I have not found it necessary to establish any new geneva in this 

 sub-family so that it is constituted of the three genera mentioned 

 above. These are all represented by Australian species, there are 

 no genera known, which have no Australian representatives. 



30. GENUS. EUSPONGIA. Bronn (1). 



Sponginre with continuous main fibres. Vestibule spaces are 

 rarely developed and never cause the sponge to attain the appear- 

 ance of much curved lamella frequently coalescing as in Hippo- 

 si)ongia. The meshes of the connecting fibre network are so fine, 

 that they cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. By this 

 oui--genus differs from Cacospongia. The thickness of the connecting 

 fibi'es is also less than in the latter species. The avex-age is O'Ol mm. 



The diagnosis of the genus is similar to that given by F. E. 

 Schulze. Although Bronn was the first to introduce the name, he 

 meant something different with the word Euspongia than Schulze, 

 according to Bronn, also Hippospongia species would have to be 

 considered as belonging to the genus Euspongia. 



A great many of the sponges described by vai-ious authors as 

 species of the old genus Spongia belong to our genus Euspongia, as 

 a reference to the synonyms will show. Also the genera Ditela 

 O. Schmidt and Coscinoderma Carter belong to this genus. 



Altogether 20 species of sponges can be considered as belonging 

 to this genus. 8 of these are described for the first time in the 

 following pages. 15 species of the 20 are Australian. One of 

 these is cosmopolitan. 



I divide the genus Euspongia into 7 sub-genera according to the 

 differences in the mode of ramifying of the connecting fibres. The 

 characteristics of these sub-geneva are the following : — 

 Connecting fibres regularly branched of very varying 



diameter (Plate 36, fig. 3. ) 1 . Irregularis 



Connecting fibres differentiated into thick tangental 



and very thin radial ones (Plate 36, fig. 1.)... 2. Triplids. 



(1) Bronn. Die Classen undOrdnungen des Thierreiches. Erste Auflage. 



