286 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



British Museum presents a series of very fine fibres, with distant 

 uniserial hair-like oxeote spicules, varying from 0'17 to 02 mm. 

 in length, which does not agree with the measurement given, i.e., 

 " 0-033 mm. long and 0-0009 thick." 



Chalinissa elongata, Lendenfeld. 



This species is not represented in the collection except by the 

 fragment from the British Museum, which agrees with the 

 description. 



Chalinissa elegans, Lendenfeld. 



No. 219. The exhibited specimen in the collection, and the 

 British Museum specimen, agree with the diagnosis. 



Chalinissa communis, Lendenfeld. 

 This specimen is also in accord with the description. 



Cladochalina mollis, Lendenjeld. 



The exhibited specimen (No. 407), is flabellate and somewhat 

 lobate, with low elevations, each of which bears an osculum from 

 4 to 10 mm. in diameter ; a number of smaller oscula are dis- 

 tributed over the surface of the lamella ; they exhibit thin 

 elevated margins and a cribate surface interiorly. The dermal 

 membrane is finely reticulated, and displays a series of porous 

 areas separated by narrow non-porous spaces. 



Texture in spirit soft, with very open mesh, elastic and rather 

 tough. Colour brownish-grey. Height of specimen, 100 mm. ; 

 width, 140 mm. ; thickness of lamella, 5 to 15 mm. 



A longitudinal section of the lamina exhibits a series of densely 

 spiculous main fibres 0-2 ram. in diameter, and about 0-5 mm. 

 apart ; these are connected by transversely arranged fibres, which 

 are exactly like the primaries ; the points of union are greatly 

 dilated, and charged with numerous spicules, which are disposed 

 in a regular fashion, and follow the trend of the fibres. The 

 mesh in the central region is rounded or oblong ; as the surface 

 is approached the fibres rapidly diminish in diameter, and the 

 mesh becomes square or angular ; the dermis consists of a fine, 

 meshed, unispicular network, the size of the mesh being in keeping 

 with the length of the spicules. 



The spicules in the fibres are straight oxea 0"1 by about 00025 

 mm. The ground substance exhibits numerous styli, oxea, and a 

 few strongyla ; these are about 008 mm. long and 0004 mm. in 

 diameter. Other spicules were observed in the sections examined 

 and also in the mass of spicules obtained by boiling a piece of the 

 sponge. These were elongated styli and small anisochcelse. I am 

 not in a position to say whether the latter are proper to the 

 sponge, or are of foreign origin. The British Museum example 

 appears to be quite distinct from the above, and to possess oxeote 

 spicules 006 to 008 mm. in length by 0-0025 mm. in diameter. 



