58 



ON A FRESH-WATER SPONGE FROM TASMANIA. 



By 



Professor T. Thomson Flynn, D.Sc, 

 University of Tasmania. 



(Read 14th August, 1922.) 



Very few fresh-water sponges have been recorded from 

 Australia — some nine or ten species in all, not one of which 

 is Tasmanian. 



The sponge referred to in the present note is apparently 

 the only Tasmanian form yet obtained. 



Its discovery was due primarily to the enthusiasm of 

 F. A. Callaway, Esq., of Wynyard, who takes a keen interest 

 in the natural history of his own district. 



About a mile from the town of Wynyard, on the v/ay to 

 Flowerdale, the road is crossed by a small creek which flows 

 into the River Inglis. The creek is here dammed for the 

 purpose of driving the engines of the local flour mill. Just 

 below the dam is a shaded pool, which is sometimes full of 

 water, sometimes nearly dry, the water rippling over the 

 rounded pebbles. This pool is quite a rich collecting ground. 



Some years ago, when on a visit to the Wynyard district 

 with Professor D. M. S. Watson, of the University College, 

 London, our attention was directed to the possibilities of this 

 spot by Mr. Callaway, who had collected there on previous 

 occasions, and now informed us of the existence of a fresh- 

 water sponge. A search among the pebbles yielded most in- 

 teresting results. Not only did we find the pale-yellow in- 

 crustation of sponge, but we were lucky enough to chance 

 upon a plentiful supply of the interesting fresh-water hydro- 

 zoan, Co)(Ii/lo})horft, which also, as far as I know, has not 

 been recorded from Tasmania. Hydra was also present in 

 abundance. 



Mr. Callaway, on a later occasion, forwarded me further 

 specimens of the sponge, and these \Ycre sent to Dr. N. 

 Annandale, of the Indian Biological Survey, to whom I am 

 greatly indebted for their identification. 



The sponge proves to be identical with I'jj)hii(liili(i until i- 

 forituH, Weltner, discovered by the German South- West Aus- 

 tralian E.xpedition in Herdman's Lake, N.W. from Subiaco, 

 Western Australia. It was de.scribcd bv I'r. W. Weltner as 



