﻿472 
  COLLECTIONS 
  FROM 
  MELANESIA. 
  

  

  4. 
  S. 
  crassicula, 
  id. 
  ibid. 
  p. 
  371. 
  Basse 
  Eocks, 
  Ceylon. 
  

  

  5. 
  S. 
  aiistraliensis, 
  id. 
  op. 
  cit. 
  1883, 
  xi. 
  p. 
  350, 
  pi. 
  xiv. 
  fig. 
  2. 
  

   W. 
  Australia. 
  

  

  6. 
  S. 
  bacillifera, 
  var. 
  robusta, 
  id. 
  loc. 
  cit. 
  p. 
  351, 
  pi. 
  xiv. 
  fig. 
  3, 
  

   S. 
  Australia. 
  

  

  Group 
  2. 
  Without 
  baciUar 
  or 
  acerate 
  flesh-spicule. 
  

  

  7. 
  S. 
  tethyopsis, 
  Carter, 
  Ann. 
  & 
  Mag. 
  N. 
  H, 
  1880, 
  v. 
  p. 
  137, 
  pi. 
  

   vi. 
  figs. 
  39, 
  40. 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Manaar, 
  Ceylon. 
  

  

  8. 
  S. 
  glohostellata, 
  id. 
  op. 
  cit. 
  1883, 
  xi. 
  p. 
  353, 
  pi. 
  xiv. 
  fig. 
  5. 
  

   Galle, 
  Ceylon. 
  

  

  9. 
  S. 
  hacca, 
  Selenka, 
  Zeitsch. 
  wiss. 
  Zool. 
  xvii. 
  p. 
  569, 
  pi. 
  xxxv. 
  

   figs. 
  14, 
  15. 
  Samoa 
  Islands. 
  

  

  10. 
  S. 
  purpurea, 
  sp. 
  n. 
  N. 
  coast 
  of 
  Australia. 
  

  

  11. 
  S. 
  clavosa, 
  sp. 
  n. 
  N. 
  coast 
  of 
  Australia*. 
  

  

  In 
  no 
  Atlantic 
  Stellettce 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  do 
  the 
  minute 
  or 
  any 
  

   stellates 
  possess 
  capitate 
  rays, 
  except 
  in 
  a 
  MS. 
  species 
  of 
  Schmidt's 
  

   from 
  Florida, 
  which 
  has 
  minute 
  drawn-out 
  stellates 
  (i. 
  e. 
  incipient 
  

   spinispirular 
  spicules) 
  with 
  very 
  slight 
  heads 
  to 
  the 
  slender 
  rays 
  ; 
  a 
  

   larger 
  stellate 
  is, 
  however, 
  present 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  these, 
  and 
  has 
  not 
  

   heads 
  to 
  its 
  rays 
  ; 
  the 
  large 
  stellate 
  of 
  S. 
  intermedia, 
  Schmidt, 
  

   from 
  Algiers, 
  has 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  the 
  rays 
  roughly 
  tuberculated 
  by 
  pro- 
  

   minent 
  groups 
  of 
  tubercles, 
  but 
  the 
  spicule 
  itself 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  homo- 
  

   logous 
  with 
  the 
  " 
  balls 
  " 
  of 
  Geodia, 
  and 
  not 
  with 
  the 
  small 
  stars 
  of 
  

   Stelletfa, 
  which 
  are 
  present 
  as 
  well. 
  The 
  Indo-Pacific 
  species 
  more 
  

   often 
  have 
  the 
  head. 
  In 
  Stelletta 
  (Ecionemia) 
  densa, 
  Bowk., 
  from 
  

   the 
  Fiji 
  Islands, 
  the 
  tuberculation 
  of 
  the 
  rays 
  is 
  sometimes 
  rather 
  

   coarser 
  at 
  their 
  apices 
  than 
  on 
  the 
  remaining 
  part, 
  and 
  in 
  Ecionemia 
  

   acervus 
  the 
  rays 
  of 
  the 
  delicate 
  stellate 
  are 
  very 
  fine 
  and 
  slightly 
  

   capitate. 
  Carter 
  does 
  not 
  describe 
  or 
  figure 
  any 
  heads 
  on 
  the 
  rays 
  

   of 
  the 
  stellates 
  of 
  his 
  species 
  from 
  this 
  region 
  exee])t 
  S. 
  glohostellata. 
  

   Selenka's 
  species 
  has 
  no 
  heads. 
  

  

  The 
  two 
  species 
  from 
  Australia 
  to 
  be 
  first 
  described 
  agree 
  with 
  

   each 
  other 
  and 
  with 
  Ecionemia 
  acervus 
  in 
  having 
  small 
  heads 
  to 
  the 
  

   stellates, 
  although 
  they 
  differ 
  from 
  it, 
  and 
  agree 
  with 
  Stelletta 
  tethy- 
  

   opsis, 
  in 
  the 
  probably 
  more 
  important 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  

   a 
  flesh 
  acerate 
  or 
  bacillar 
  spicule 
  ; 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  apex 
  of 
  

   the 
  ray 
  of 
  the 
  stellate 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  species 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  described. 
  

   The 
  Samoa-Islands 
  species 
  has 
  no 
  surface 
  linear 
  spicule 
  assigned 
  to 
  

   it 
  by 
  its 
  describer, 
  but 
  it 
  differs 
  fundamentally 
  from 
  our 
  species 
  in 
  

   its 
  large, 
  noncapitate-rayed 
  stellate. 
  

  

  * 
  S. 
  euasifrum 
  of 
  Carter 
  (? 
  Schmidt) 
  described 
  (Ann. 
  & 
  Mcag. 
  Nat. 
  Hist. 
  1882, 
  

   V. 
  pp. 
  135, 
  13G, 
  pi. 
  vii. 
  figs. 
  41, 
  42) 
  from 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Manaar 
  and 
  Australia, 
  

   includes 
  two 
  distinct 
  species, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  first 
  at 
  any 
  rate 
  is 
  distinct 
  from 
  

   Schmidt's 
  species 
  ; 
  they 
  belong 
  to 
  a 
  remarkable 
  group 
  of 
  forms 
  which 
  connect 
  

   Stelletta 
  with 
  Geodia 
  : 
  the 
  surface-disk 
  forms 
  a 
  character 
  of 
  sufficient 
  import- 
  

   ance 
  to 
  distinguish 
  the 
  species 
  which 
  possess 
  it 
  from 
  Stelletta 
  s. 
  str. 
  S. 
  nvx 
  of 
  

   Selenka 
  (Zeitsch. 
  wiss. 
  Zool. 
  xvii. 
  p. 
  569, 
  pi. 
  xxxv. 
  figs. 
  11-13), 
  from 
  the 
  S.amoa 
  

   Islands, 
  is 
  probably 
  a 
  Tethya 
  s. 
  str., 
  as 
  its 
  stellate 
  agrees 
  with 
  the 
  large 
  stellate 
  

   of 
  that 
  genus, 
  and 
  its 
  " 
  forks 
  " 
  are 
  rare 
  and 
  probably 
  foreign 
  to 
  the 
  sponge. 
  

  

  