48 ProceediJigs of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



strongly hispid. The texture is firm and very tough, and the 

 colour in spirit is rather dark brown. 



Skeletoit., the skeleton consists of a very dense centi-al axis of 

 laminated brown spongin, apparently originally made up of a 

 close irregular network of stout horny fibres. This central axis 

 is very thick and is continued in short, stout, radiating fibres 

 towards the surface. Imbedded in this abundant horny matrix 

 are very numei^ous large oxeote spicules, mostly lying more or 

 less parallel to the long axis of the sponge, but many curving 

 outwards towards the surface in the radiating fibres. At the 

 surface ai-e arranged, at fairly regular intervals, beautiful radiate 

 tufts of small slender megascleres. From the centre of each of 

 these tufts a very large oxeote spicule projects outwards, 

 approximately at right angles to the surface of the sponge and 

 imbedded in the sponge for only about a quarter of its length. 



Megascleres., (a) long and rather slender, gently-curved oxea^ 

 sharply and gradually pointed at each end and resembling those 

 of Jlalichondria ; size about 0'9 by 0"013 mm.; found in the 

 horny fibre in the interior of the sponge with many smaller ones ; 

 (h) the very large oxea of the surface, in shape like those of the 

 interior, but measuring alnjut 1-47 by 0-05.5 mm.; (o) the 

 spicules of the surface tufts ; sub-oxeote or stylote, gradually 

 sharp-pointed at the outer end, but more cr less rounded off at 

 the inner ; long, slender, gently curved ; size about 0"3o by 

 0'004 mm. ; (d) small spined styli ; short, straight, gradually 

 and finely pointed and minutely spined all oyer; size about 0"066 

 by 0"004 mm. ; very rare, echinating the horny fibre in the 

 interior of the sponge ; probably to be regarded as merely 

 vestigial structures. 



B.JW 655 (x, 20 f ; " bottle green with a wash of sepia "). 



Baspailid cacticutis, Cai'ter, sp. 



DicUjocylindr'us cacticutis, Carter, A.M.N.H., November, 1885, 

 p. 354. 



This is a very remarkable species, easily recognisable by its 

 cactiform extei'nal appearance and nearly black colour. The 

 skeleton is composed chiefly of an irregular network of very stout 

 horny fibre, sometimes with and sometimes without axial 



