216 RECORDS OF THK AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



From a scientific point of view it is much to be regretted that 

 the author of the Catalogue of Sponges did not exercise more care 

 in the description of the spicular characters, considering that they 

 are in many cases the most reliable factors which determine the 

 limits of genera and species. The carelessness displayed in the 

 descriptions contained in the Catalogue vitiates the whole of the 

 work done, and has created an intricate tangle, which will take 

 years of patient investigation to unravel ; further, no amount of 

 study will rectify the wrong identifications based on such descrip- 

 tions, or reduce the number of synonyms. 



A scanty and superficial description is rightly characterised by 

 Dr. Lendenfeld as " worthless." On the other hand, what term 

 shall we apply to a description that is apparently full of detail, 

 but which detail is opposed to the actual structure 1 



