﻿366 
  

  

  SPONGIIDA. 
  

  

  BY 
  

  

  STUART 
  0. 
  EIDLET. 
  

  

  The 
  published 
  information 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  marine 
  Sponges 
  of 
  

   Australia 
  is 
  very 
  limited, 
  both 
  as 
  compared 
  -with 
  that 
  relating 
  to 
  

   other 
  groups 
  of 
  the 
  Animal 
  Kingdom, 
  and 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  

   attention 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  paid 
  to 
  them 
  by 
  collectors. 
  Large 
  quan- 
  

   tities 
  of 
  Sponges 
  have 
  been 
  sent 
  to 
  England 
  from 
  this 
  coast, 
  and 
  the 
  

   national 
  collection 
  of 
  France 
  possesses 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  evidently 
  of 
  

   similar 
  origin 
  : 
  but 
  notwithstanding 
  this 
  fact, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  in- 
  

   telligibly 
  described 
  species 
  is 
  surprisingly 
  small. 
  Dr. 
  Bowerbank, 
  

   who 
  obtained 
  very 
  large 
  supplies 
  of 
  material, 
  chiefly 
  from 
  S.W. 
  

   Australia, 
  only 
  described* 
  14 
  species 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  

   probablj^ 
  come 
  from 
  this 
  continent 
  ; 
  these 
  are 
  chiefly 
  Silicea. 
  

   Mr. 
  Carter 
  has 
  described 
  f 
  8 
  species 
  from 
  Bass's 
  Straits, 
  and 
  somo 
  

   25 
  from 
  other 
  localities 
  (almost 
  entirely 
  southern 
  and 
  south- 
  

   western); 
  of 
  these 
  33, 
  about 
  one 
  half 
  are 
  Silicea, 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  

   remainder 
  are 
  Ceratosa. 
  ' 
  Prof. 
  Hackel 
  J: 
  describes 
  16 
  species 
  of 
  

   Calcarea 
  from 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  east 
  coasts; 
  A. 
  Hyatt 
  § 
  records 
  8 
  

   Ceratosa 
  from 
  South 
  and 
  East 
  Australia 
  ; 
  Prof. 
  Selenka 
  |! 
  shortly 
  

   describes 
  and 
  figures 
  5 
  Sponges 
  from 
  Melbourne 
  and 
  Bass's 
  Straits 
  ; 
  

   and 
  W. 
  Marshall 
  5[, 
  Gray**, 
  and 
  some 
  other 
  writers 
  add 
  a 
  few 
  

   species 
  to 
  the 
  list; 
  Polejaeffff 
  adds 
  11 
  Calcarea 
  to 
  the 
  fauna. 
  

   Dr. 
  Gray 
  describes 
  a 
  remarkable 
  form, 
  Xenosponr/in 
  , 
  from 
  Torres 
  

   Straits, 
  the 
  only 
  Siliceous 
  species 
  which 
  I 
  can 
  find 
  hitherto 
  described 
  

   as 
  definitely 
  obtained 
  from 
  jS'orth 
  Australia. 
  

  

  The 
  older 
  writers 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  neglected 
  the 
  Sponges 
  of 
  Australia 
  ; 
  

   and 
  in 
  particular 
  Lamarck 
  J 
  J 
  described 
  53 
  species 
  from 
  "Mors 
  

   Australes," 
  collected 
  by 
  Messrs. 
  Peron 
  and 
  Lesueur, 
  of 
  which, 
  as 
  

   we 
  shall 
  see 
  below, 
  there 
  is 
  considerable 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  

   many 
  were 
  obtained 
  off 
  the 
  more 
  northern 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  continent 
  ; 
  a 
  

   few 
  are 
  certainly 
  from 
  the 
  south 
  (King 
  Island 
  and 
  Francis 
  and 
  

   Kang 
  iroo 
  Islands). 
  There 
  is, 
  however, 
  the 
  very 
  serious 
  difficulty 
  

   connected 
  with 
  these 
  descriptions 
  of 
  Lamarck 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  ex- 
  

  

  * 
  Chiefly 
  in 
  Proc, 
  Zool. 
  Soc. 
  1872-76. 
  

  

  t 
  In 
  Ann. 
  & 
  Mag. 
  Nat. 
  Hist. 
  1873-84. 
  J 
  Die 
  Kalkschwamme. 
  

  

  § 
  Mem. 
  Bost. 
  Soc. 
  ii. 
  || 
  Zeitsch. 
  wiss. 
  Zool. 
  xvii. 
  

  

  % 
  Zeit.sch. 
  wiss. 
  Zool. 
  xxxv. 
  

  

  ** 
  Ann. 
  & 
  Mag. 
  Nat. 
  Hist. 
  (4) 
  vi. 
  ; 
  Proc. 
  Zool. 
  Soc. 
  18G9. 
  

   tt 
  Zoology 
  H.M.S. 
  ' 
  Challenger,' 
  part 
  xxiv. 
  

  

  II 
  Ann. 
  Mils. 
  Hist. 
  Nat. 
  xx. 
  (besides 
  an 
  uncertain 
  number, 
  as 
  Alcyo7iia, 
  in 
  

   M6m. 
  Mus. 
  Nat. 
  Hist. 
  i.). 
  

  

  