HALME. 157 



of fresh, preserved, and dry specimens is dark brown or black. The sponge is 

 resilient when fresh, brittle and friable in the dry state. 



The sl-eleton is composed of main and connecting-fibres. The former appear 

 as simple, uniserial, pretty straight columns of nearly spherical sand-grains 

 0-07 millim. in size, which are not invested by a conspicuous spongin coating, 

 and held together by a minimum quantity of horny cement. The connecting- 

 fibres are simple or slightly branched, 0'008 millim. thick ; they do not anas- 

 tomose to form a reticulation. The surface is protected by an arenaceous 

 cortex. 



Geographioal Distribution. — Indian Ocean : Mauritius. 

 North coast of Austraha : Torres Straits {Macleay) ; Northern Territory, 

 S. A. (Haacke). South coast of Australia : Port Phillip, V. {Lendenfeld). 



Halme globosa, Lendenfeld. 



Holme glohosa, R. v. Lendenfeld, " A Monograph of the Australian Sponges. — 

 Part V. The Auleninae," Proceedings of the Liunean Society of New 

 South Wales, vol. x. p. 303 (1885). 



Bulbous, more or less spherical sponges, attached by a small base, which 

 attain a diameter of 30-60 millim. In the living state this sponge has a 

 greyish-purple colour, which is subject to variations. The purple is always 

 the same, but the grey varies, according to the nature of the foreign bodies in 

 the dermal lamella, from light to dark grey. In spirit, if well preserved, the 

 sponge retains its dull purple colour ; dry specimens are brownish grey. The 

 dermal lamella is a marginal thickening of the internal lamellae, the distal parts 

 of which appear wedge-shaped in sections. The contour of the pseudoscula, in 

 the surface, is rounded ; they measure on the surface 8 millim., and in the 

 narrowest part below 5 millim. in M^idth, and are about 7 millim. apart. 



The skeleton consists of knotty main and reticulating connectiug fibres. The 

 wide inhalant canals are pervaded by numerous fine membranes, which contain 

 a great number of highly colourable, araoBboid wandering-cells. 



GrEOGEAPHiCAL Disthibution. — South coast of Australia, St. Vincent Gulf, 

 S. A. (Haacke) ; Port Phillip, V. (Lendenfeld). 



Halme nidus vesparuin, Lendenfeld. 



Holme nidus vesparum, R. v. Lendenfeld, " A Monograph of the Australian 

 Sponges. — Part V. The Auleninse," Proceedings of the Linnean Society of 

 New South Wales, vol. x. p. 288 (1885). 



Holopsamma lamino'favoso (partim), H. J. Carter, " Descriptions of Sponges 



