24G Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



Siphonoclialina procumbens, var. fiabelliforniis, Carter, var. 



Patuloscula procujiidens, var. fiabeiliforuiis, Carter, A.M.N.H., 

 October, 1885, p. 286. 



I liave only seen a fragment of Mr. Carter's specimen of this 

 variety. He describes the sponge as consisting of greatly 

 elongated tubes united laterally into a fan-shaped form, rising 

 from a single stem. The skeletal differences as compared with 

 the typical form are very slight. 



B.M. d. 78 (^'- Patuloscula procumbens^ \-m\ fiabellifor/iiis. Reg. 

 86-12-15-203). 



Siphonochaliiia bispiculata, n. sp. 



Sponge irregulai-, sul'lamellar, low-gi'owing, proliferous ; some- 

 times I'ising into short, tubular digitations, each with a wide vent 

 at the summit, or the vents may be smaller and marginal. In 

 spirit the texture is compressible and resilient, and the colour 

 pale yellow. 



Skeleton, an irregular or rectangularly meshed network of 

 stout horny libre containing few spicules. The primary fibres 

 measure about 0*05 mm. in diameter, and the .secondaries little 

 less. The primary fibres contain a few rather long oxea, the 

 secondaries usually contain no spicules at all, or a very few of 

 the short oxea, which sometimes project from them at right 

 angles. A few spicules occur scattered in the soft tissues, and 

 there is a well-developed dermal skeleton composed of radiating 

 tufts of long slender oxea. 



Spicules, the oxea are of two distinct kinds : — (a) long and 

 slender, straight, gradually sharjD-pointed, measuring about 0-2 

 by O'OO-l mm.; (1>) extremely short, relatively stout, hastately 

 spindle-shaped spicules, with sharp points; measuring about 0'035 

 by O-OO-l mm. 



The long oxea occur abundantly in the dermal tufts, and 

 scattered through the soft tissues of the interior. The short ones 

 occur sparsely scattered through the soft tissues, and irregularly 

 in, and projecting from, the horny fibres. Intermediate forms 

 occur in the primary fibres. 



In external appearance this species resembles Siphonochalijia 

 procumbens, but its remarkable spiculation separates it from all 



