GELLIODES. — GELLIUS. 189 



Genus GELLIODES. 



Heterorrhaphidse of erect habit and well-defined form. Fibres 

 distinct and compact. Spicules smooth — oxea and stigmata. 



Gelliodes poculum, Eidley & Dendy. 



Gelliodes poculum, Ridley & Dendy, " Preliminary Eeport on the Monaxonida 

 collected by H.M.S. ' Challenger,' " Annals and Magazine of Natural 

 History, ser. 5, vol. xviii. p. 334 (1886). 



The sponge consists of a thin incrusting lamella, from which large funnel- 

 shaped calices arise. Colour in spirit brownish yellow. Texture soft, spongy, 

 but very tough and fibrous. Surface uneven, but fairly smooth. 



Skeleton : (a) Main, a reticulation of stout horny matter, sparsely cored by 

 uniserially arranged spicules ; (6) Dermal, a closer reticulation of stout horny 

 fibre, with few axial spicules, but echinated abundantly by tufts of outwardly 

 projecting spicules. Spicules : Megasclera short, fusiform oxea, sharp-pointed, 

 slightly curved, measuring 0-2 x 0-014 milHm. ; microsclera large slender sig- 

 mata, measuring 0*12 x 0-004 millim. 



Geographical Distribution. — East coast of Australia : Port Jackson, 

 N. S.W. (' Challenger,' Lendenfeld). 



Genus GELLIUS. 



Heterorrhaphidse with very little horny matter in the skeleton, 

 which is chiefly composed of rods and sigmata. 



Gellius panis, n. sp. 



The sponge consists of irregularly curved lamellsD, attached by a small base. 

 The lamella) are tender and transparent, measuring about 4 millim. in thick- 

 ness, and often perforated so that the whole structure appears very loose. 

 The sponge attains a height of 80 millim. The sm-face is smooth, the oscula 

 are somewhat irregular and scattered. 



The sJceleton consists of a rather loose network of spicules, in which fibres 

 can hardly be distinguished. The meshes of this network are, for the most 

 part, enclosed either by single spicules or by irregular and very loose bundles 

 containing 2-5 series of them. The megasclera are oxea, slightly curved, 

 sharp-pointed, and cylindrical in the middle. They are on an average 0-2 

 millim. long and 0-007 millim. thick. Microsclera : sigmata, 0-03 millim. long 



