BY R. VON LENDENFELD, PH.D. 539 



attached near the termination of a main tibre it is simply taken 

 up by it, this is the usual way in which the main fibres attain 

 their core of foreign bodies. Between the main fibre terminations 

 however, in the fields, we never find the foreign bodies in the 

 surface being taken into the body of tlie sponge in other species of 

 Eiispongia, It appears that in this species the sponge selects from 

 the numerous foreign bodies in its surface these large ones and 

 allows them to be imbedded in its body, whereas all the other 

 smaller ones present in abundance remain always in the outer skin. 



Geographical Distribution. 

 East Coast of Australia, Port Jackson (von Lendenfeld, 

 Ramsay) ; Broughton Island (Ramsay). 



Bathymetrical Distribution. 

 5-10 metres (in Port Jackson). 



The specimens from Broughton Island are larger than those 

 from Port Jackson. 



VI. SUB-GENUS. DEN SALTS. 



The species ref errable to this genus are characterised by the small 

 size of the meshes in the net-work formed by the connecting fibres, 

 and the gi-eat thickness of them. 



Whereas in the sub-genus Regularis the connecting fibres are 

 about a tenth in thickness of the width of ilie meshes in the net- 

 work, here they are only a sixth or less. The consequence of this 

 is, that the skeleton becomes very dense, 



78. SPECIES. EUSPONGIA PARVULA. Nova Species. 

 Shape and Size. 

 Eiispongia parvula is a very small and inconspicuous sponge. 

 It consists of conic or tapering digitate processes which grow out 

 from a lamellose base attached by one side, The largest specimen 

 measures 50 mm., in height and 30 mm., in width ; the digitate 

 processes reach a length of 25 mm., and are at the base 8 mm., 

 wide. They are not regularly circular in transverse section but 

 laterally compressed. Their ends are pointed. 



