BY R. VON LENDENFELD, PH.D. 303 



proved that it was not so. The sponge is not nearly so haid as 

 Halme Nidus Vesparum. There is a great abundance of sand, but 

 it appears that the Spongialin-cement is not so highly developed in 

 this species as in the foregoing. 



Geographical Distribution. 



North Coast of Australia, South Coast of Australia, Mauritius, 

 Port Phillip (Von Lendenfeld); Torres Straits (Macleay); Northern 

 Territory of South Australia (Haacke) ; Mauritius (Von Haast). 



Bathymetrical Distribution. 

 10-20 metres. (Port Phillip.) 



The Port Phillip specimens are black when dry (brown in spirits 

 and living). All the others light or dark brown (dry), 



61. SPECIES. 



HALME GLOBOSA, NOVA SPECIES. 



Shape and Size. 



The specimens which I refer to this species are bulbous, more 

 or less spherical and attached by a small portion of the surface 

 only. They measure from 30 to 60 mm. in diameter. 



Colour. 



In the living state this sponge has a greyish-purple color, which 

 seems however, to be subject to unusual variations. The purple is 

 always the same, but the grey varies according to the nature of 

 the foreign bodies in the dermal lamella, from light to dark gray. 

 In spirits, it preserved well, the sponge retains its dull purple 

 color ; if not well preserved, and when dry the sponge is brownish 



grey. 



surface. 



The Dermal Lamella is developed in a rather different manner 

 than in Halme Nidus Vesparum. It appears as a terminal thick- 

 ening of the distal interior lamella. On sections it makes the 

 impression of a wedge-shaped thickening. The contour of the 



