5S7 



III. Mittheiluiigeii aus Museen, Instituten etc. 



1. Linnean Society of New South Wales. 



29th July, 1SS5. — 1. A Monograph of the Australian Sponges. 

 PartV. The Auleninae. By R. v. Lendenfeld, Ph.D. Several Sponges from 

 various localities in the Australian region have been included by the author 

 in this new subfamily, the members of which are characterized by a very 

 peculiar structure not met with in any other Sponges. The new Subfamily 

 Auleninae is placed in the Family Spongidae, and consists of the two new 

 genera Aulena and Halme , with three species in all. The anatomy and 

 histology of these is accurately described and illustrated by numerous plates. 

 The Auletitnae form honeycombed or complicated reticulate structures, the 

 cavities form a kind of vestibule and are simple in Hahne, Avhere an outer 

 lamella surrounds the whole sponge ; or subdivided into numerous small 

 compartments, as in Aulena, where no outer lamella exists. Into the system 

 of Vestibule-Lacunae both the inhalent and the exhalent canals of the 

 sponge open. The skeleton of Halme is composed of thick main fibres rich 

 in sand, thin, simple and clean connecting fibres, and a hard cortex of sand 

 cemented with spongiolin. The skeleton of Aulena is very peculiar. It con- 

 sists of a regular network of fine horny threads in the joining points of 

 which large sand grains are found. In the membranes of the Vestibule-La- 

 cunae of this genus, nervous elements, sensitive and ganglia cells have been 

 discovered by the author. These and many other histological details are de- 

 scribed in the paper, which dwells also on the morphological significance of 

 these interesting neAV sponges. — 2. On a Sponge Destructive to Oyster 

 Culture in the Clarence River. By R. v. Lendenfeld, Ph.D. In this Paper 

 the author describes a new Sponge Chalinula Coxii, which appeared some 

 years ago on certain oyster beds in the Clarence River, and destroyed some 

 of them completely. — 3. Jottings from the Biological Laboratory of Syd- 

 ney University. By William A. Haswell, M.A., B.Sc, F.L.S., etc.. Lec- 

 turer on Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. This paper contains — 

 1st. Some Notes on an Australian species of Bonellia, which seems scarcely 

 to differ from the European species Bonellia viridis ; and 2ndly. Some ob- 

 servations on Aquatic Respiration in fresh water Turtles. — J. Brazier. 

 C.M.Z.S., etc., exhibited specimens of the bones, dried ink-bags, and pig- 

 ment of both sexes of Sepia plangon, Gray, from Port Jackson, also similar 

 preparations of Sepia capensis, from Bondi. He also exhibited mounted spe- 

 cimens of the valves and mantles of Chiton spiniger Sowb., from Port De- 

 nison, and of Chiton petholatus, from Port Jackson. — Mr. Masters exhibi- 

 ted a fine collection of the magnificent Ornithoptera Brookeana, from Borneo. 

 — Mr. Fletcher exhibited the young of Pseudophryne Australis, and mentio- 

 ned some points of interest in regard to its development. The ova are laid 

 under stones, after rain, on the margin of ponds. In about three weeks the 

 embryos have reached the condition of fully formed tadpoles, which can 

 sustain a prolonged postponement of their hatching. Specimens were shown, 

 in which the embryos were seen still coiled up in their gelatinous envelopes, 

 developed from ova collected more than three months ago. When placed in 

 water, a number of these tadpoles emerged within the space of an hour ; a 



