522 a monograph of the australian sponges, 



Colour. 



When fi'esh, grey, the same in spirits, but faint yellow 

 internally. The beachwoi-m skeletons are light grey. 



Canal System. 



Carter mentions sub-dermal cavities and vents on the margin. 

 I am not able to judge from his description, but I would not think 

 it unlikely that the vents are not vents at all but inhalent 

 pseudoscula, similar to those described above of Euspongia 

 irregularis and JEuspongia canaliculata. A re-examination of the 

 specimens will be necessary to decide this. 



Skeleton. (Plate XXXVI., fig. 6.) 



Carter says that " the wool-like character of the fibre, owing to 

 its being so small and uniform is peculiar." That Carter put this 

 " is " in italics firstly led me to believe that the sponges under 

 consideration are identical. I have certainly never seen any 

 sponge skeleton similar to the skeleton of this species in this 

 respect. 



The main fibres, as mentioned above in the diagnosis of the 

 sub-genus, consist of a trellice work of fibres, and form a very 

 dense network with small irregular meshes. In other words a 

 perforated column. In this structure continuous thick fibres can 

 be traced for short distances which are cored with foreign 

 bodies, chiefly very fine grained sand. The whole structure 

 measures O'lO mm. in thickness. The fibres which form it, 

 are 0' 01-0 -09 mm. thick and the meshes average a width of 

 0-08 mm. 



These very peculiar main fibres were not seen by Carter, but as 

 they are far apart and difiicult to find I do not attach much 

 importance to that. 



These main fibres ramify irregularly, and it appears that 

 occasionally, particularly at the joining points, the trellice work of 

 which they consist becomes more loose and irregular, and in such 

 localities there are no main fibres accordingly. 



