ox MEHLIA xoe:*[axi. 697 



spouge tliat has taken to forming carbonate of lime one tliafc 

 is extremely probable. 



Personal Xote. — The finding of Merlia Avas associated 

 with a curious incident which I trust may be of sufficient 

 interest to be worth mentioning. I went out dredging daily 

 at Porto Santo in a small whaling boat with Senhor Xoronha 

 and a crew of seven men. As day after day passed withuut 

 result, I reluctantly decided to give up the search and return 

 to Madeira. Oa the ninth day of dredging I secured as 

 usual several lai-ge tubfuls of various specimens, but 

 apparently Merlia was not amongst them. One of the tubs 

 contained coarse sand, and I had told the men to throw it 

 overboard in order to refill with more likely material, such 

 as shells, pieces of rock, etc. I had arranged to leave the 

 island that evening, and shortly after landing from the 

 dredging I sent my luggage down to the beach. A\ hile the 

 men were carrying away my Ijoxes I casually picked up a 

 small worm-tube out of the tulj of coarse sand which had 

 been brought ashore after all. Great was my pleasure on 

 reco<'iiisin2f in the fadins: light the long-sought-for Merlia. 

 I at once altered my plans and went next morning to the 

 spot whence the sand had been dredged, and secured a 

 number of living specimens of the little sponge. 



Literature. 



1. Kirkpatnck. R.— " On Two Nev;- Genera of Recent Pliaretronid 



Sponges," • Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.,' 1908 (8), ii, p. 503. 



2. "Weltner, W. — " 1st Merlia normaui Kirkp. ein Schwamm ? " 



' Archiv filr Naturg./ Jahrb. 75, Bd. i. Heft 1, 1909, p. 139. 



3. "1st Astrosclera willeyana Lister eine Spongie?" 



• Archiv fiir Naturg.." Jabrb. 76. Bd. i, Heft 1. 1910. pp. 128-134. 



4. Kirkpatrick. R. — "Notes on Merlia normani Kirkp.,'' "Ann. 



Mag. Nat. Hist.." 1909 (8), iv, p. 42. 



5. '■ Further Notes on Merlia normaui Kirkp.," 'Ann. Mag- 

 Nat. Hist..' 1910 (8), V, pp. 288-291. 



6. '"Notes on Merlia normani Kirkp. ,"" 'Ann. Mag. Nat. 



Hist.,' 1909 (8i, iv, p. 47. 



