\Q Art. 1,— N. Annandale and T. Kawamura : 



Both of these species have close Holarctic affinities, but the 

 Heteromeyenia is perhaps more closely related to American than 

 European forms; no species of the genus is yet known from 

 Continental Asia. 



It is possibly no more than fortuitous that while H. kawa- 

 murae is only reported as yet from Lake Biwa, S. scmispong'dla 

 has been found also in Kasumi-ga-Ura on the Pacific coast of the 

 Island, for the Spong'dla is abundant wherever it occurs, whereas 

 the Hetcroeyenia is apparently rare. 



One species (Spongilla aspinosa) has been found only in Lake 

 Biwa and in a single locality in North America, if it be not identical 

 with S. sine?isis from Su-chau in Eastern China, with which it is at 

 least closely allied. The species is evidently a rare one, or rather 

 a very ' ' local ' ' form, and it is probable that it will be found in 

 other countries also. 



Three species are cosmopolitan, or at any rate have practically 

 universal distribution in the Holarctic Zone, if not beyond its 

 borders. They are Spong'dla lacustris, S. fragills and Ephydatia 

 mülleri. Varieties of the first of these are known from India, 

 Malaysia and possibly South America, as well as from many parts 

 of Europe, N. America and northern Continental Asia; S. frag His 

 occurs in Australia as well as in the Holarctic Zone and is repre- 

 sented in Tropical Asia and South Africa by closely related 

 forms, while JE. mülleri is common in N. America and Europe and 

 is replaced in India and Malaysia by E. meyenl (Carter), which is 

 perhaps no more than a subspecies. The variety japonica has 

 hitherto been found only in Japan and in N. America, whence it 

 has been recorded from a single locality, namely the Potomac 

 River. Its distribution is therefore apparently somewhat similar 

 to that of S. asplnosa. The seventh species {Spong'dla dementis) 

 has been found also in the Island of Luzon in the Philippine 

 Archiperago and in south-western China. 



The distribution of the seven species, therefore, casts, so far 

 as it is known, but little light on the origin of the fauna to which 

 they belong. All that we can say is, that the species are mainly 

 Holarctic, exhibiting perhaps close affinities with North American 



