\^]S Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. X, 



a very representative set of specimens of the species assigned 

 by Dybowski to his genus Lubomirskia. In discussing more fully 

 the result of comparing preparations of these sponges on the one 

 hand with similar preparations of many true Spongillidae, and on 

 the other with those of marine Monaxon sponges, it will be as well 

 to commence by giving a brief abstract of what has already been 

 published on the Baikal species as a result of the examination of 

 collections from the lake. 



So long ago as 1772 or 1773 Pallas ^ described the first of 

 these sponges under the name Spungia baikalensis. 



In 1870 Miklucho-Maclay ^ redescribed this sponge very briefly 

 and assigned it to his new genus Veluspa, treating it as a variety 

 of the Arctic marine species V. polymorpha. 



In 1879 Dybowski ^ again reinstated Spongia baikalensis as a 

 distinct species and created a new genus for its reception and for 

 that of all the other sponges from Lake Baikal with which he was 

 acquainted. For this genus he coined the name Lubomirskia. 



In 1895 several additional species and varieties were described 

 and assigned to Lubomirskia by Soukatschoff.* 



In 1901 Swartschevski ^ pointed out that two distinct genera 

 had been confused under the name Lubomirskia and distributed 

 the species described by fotmer authors, together with several 

 new forms described by himself, between the genera Lubomirskia 

 and Veluspa. He also described some true Spongillinae from 

 Lake Baikal, In the same year Korotneff ^ based some general 

 observations (briefly describing the same Spongillidae) on his own 

 collection, on which Swartschewski also worked. This collection 

 is still being described in a series of monographs. 



In my paper of last year^ I suggested, as a provisional ar- 

 rangement, that all the genera and species from Lake Baikal placed 

 in Veluspa and Lubomirskia by other authors, should be reassem- 

 bled in the latter genus, and that they should be assigned to the 

 subfamily Chalininae of the family Haploscleridae, instead of the 

 Spongillidae. 



I. Systematic. 



It is a disputed point among students of the Porifera whether 

 the classification of the Monaxonida (or Monaxonellida) should be 

 based mainly, if not exclusively, on the form of the microscleres, 

 or whether that of the skeleton-spicules and other macroscleres 

 should not rather be taken first into account. Both parties, how- 



1 Gauthier de la Peronie's French translation of Pallas's " Travels " ; '■I'oynges 



de M. P. S. Pallas ...Tradiiifs de l'Alle7naiid {i]]S-i]g:^)" is the only version 



available in Calcutta. The reference to the description of Spongia baikalensis in 

 this version is vol. IV, p. 680. 



■^ Mc'm. Acad. Set. St. Ptfersb. X\', No. 3 {]), p. 4 ( 1870). 



'"• Mem. Acad. Sci. Sf. Petersb. XXVU. No. 6 (6), p. ] i (1880). 



* Trnv. Soc. Nat. St. Petersb. XXV (2), p. 11 (1895). 



& Zapiski Kiev. Obse. Jest. XVII (2) (lyoi). 



'^ Biol. Centralbl. XXI, p. 306 (1901). 



■? Ann. Mils. Zool . Ac. Sci. St. Petersb. X\Tll, p. 96 (1913). 



