Sponges from South Australia. i^') 



in structure to the tubulation of the Ascones, where the latter 

 begin to present " parenchyma," inasmuch as the radial tube 

 of Grantia is solely composed of a spicular skeleton consisting 

 of a single layer of small radiates, whose interstices are tym- 

 panized by sarcode plentifully traversed by pores, and whose 

 intervals are filled with parenchyma supporting the young 

 ova &c., with Hackel's " intercanal system." Indeed the 

 amount of parenchyma in Clathrina ventricosa far exceeds 

 that 10 be found in any of the Sycones, as will be seen 

 hereafter, and thus, as before stated, in this respect it more 

 nearly appi'oaches Hackel's Leucones (ex. gr. Leucaltis jiori- 

 dana) than any of the iSycones. 



9. Sycandra Ramsayi^ von Lendenfeld. 



Sycandra Ramsayi, von Lendenfeld, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South 

 " Wales, vol. ix. pt. 4, p. 1097. 



This sponge, which has been well described and illustrated 

 by Dr. K. von Lendenfeld {op. et he. cit.), is easily recog- 

 nized by its comparatively large size and the closeness of 

 the hairy surface, wdiich has been so much worn away in 

 my specimens that it now looks like a " shoe-brush " or the 

 coat of a "dipt" horse. The tufts of spicules with which 

 it is covered are so close together that the surface instead of 

 being granulated by them, as in Grantia ciliata, is continu- 

 ously uniform, so that the whole, including the long stout 

 peristome, has when dry a glistening silky appearance ; 

 still, by pushing aside the tufts, the usual pore-areas may be 

 seen between them which also respectively cover their radial 

 chambers on the outside; but this is not shown in Dr. Len- 

 denfeld's illustration {op. cit. pi. Ixvi. fig. 37). Internally 

 the holes of the cloaca, although honeycomb-like in appear- 

 ance, are almost circular, and so generally in apposition that 

 it is only here and there that any " intercanal " space for the 

 parenchyma can be seen between them ; their margins are 

 sparsely echinated with the fourth ray of the quadriradiate, 

 which is comparatively short, and the radial chambers extend- 

 ing outwards from them are long and skeletally " articulated " 

 with characteristically small, thin, triradiate spicules of much 

 the same size, but for the most part sagittal in form. The 

 minute acerate spicules from the base of the tufts represented 

 by Dr. Lendenfeld form part of the medium of attachment 

 between the tufls and the elongated shafts of the triradiates at 

 the outer end of the radial tube ; these are sinuous and larger 



3* 



