188 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



ESPERELLA MODESTA. (Sp. IIOV.) 



(Plate T.. ligs. 7, nd—d.) 



Sponge slightl}' lobed ; gnnving through and partiall}' enveloping 

 a densely branched sea-Aveed (Plate L, tig. 7), Colour, when dry, 

 brownish-yellow. Texture, moderately lirm. not elastic. Surface, even, 

 somewhat rough. Oscula, circular openings, level with the general 

 surface, about 1'5 mm. in diameter. Examined when dry. 



Skeleton. — Irregular. Avith an indistinct reticulate arrangement of 

 stylote spicules. Loose, rather slender tibres of spicules pass to the sur- 

 face and are connected together by spicules which show very little 

 ten<lency to form definite tibres, but are loosely and irregularly disposed. 

 There is seemingly no distinct dermal arrangement of the skeleton. A 

 rather large proportion of spongin is present. 



Spicules. — Meyasclera ; of two sizes. (1) Stout, rather abruptly 

 pointed, strongly bent, smooth styli, from 0"091 to 0"19(j mm. long, with 

 an average thickness of O'OOO mm. (Plate I., tig. 7a). (2) Slender, 

 gradually and sharply pointed, strongly bent, smooth st3di, varying 

 in length from 0"124to 0150 mm., and averaging 0003 mm. in thickness 

 (Plate I., fig. 76). Microsclera ; small palmate anisochehc, measuring 

 from 0019 to 0021 mm. in length ; occurring in moderate numbers 

 (Plate I., tigs. 7c. 7^/). 



Locality. — Gaspé coast, one specimen, dry. Sir William Dawson. 



Cladoiuhza ABVssrroLA. M. Sars. 



(Plate I., figs. S, 8«— c.) 



CladorJilza abyssicola, M. Sars. In G. O. Sars's paper on Some Remarkable Forms 



of Animal Life from the great deeps off the Norwegian 



co.ast, p. 6.5, pi. vi., flgs. lG-84, 1872. 

 " " Whiteaves. 1H74. Report on deep-sea dredging operations 



in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, p. 9. 

 " " Carter. 1874. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., .series 4, vol. xiv., 



p. 218, pi. xiv., fig. 22. 



A specimen of this sponge was dredged by Mr. Whiteaves in the 

 (rulf i)i' St. Lawrence, between Anticosti and the GasjDé peninsula. The 

 specimen (Plate I., fig. 8), is 56 mm. high, exclusive of the root, which 

 was al)sent when brought to the surface of the water ; the main stem 

 had been severed at A (see figure •), evidently by the dredge. 



The spicules of the Canadian specimen are asfollows : Meyasclera ; 

 moderately stout, rather bluntly pointed smooth styli, thickest at mid- 

 length ; maximum size about (j55 by 0019 mm. (Plate I., fig. 8a). 

 Microsclera ; (1) Small anisochelœ (Plate L, figs. 86, 8c), that appear 



' In the figure the root ha.s been restored after Sars'.s original figure. 



