170 Dr. H. Hauff on the Genus Hindia, Dune. 



Hinde himself has since * designated the bodies as Hindia 

 Jihrosa, F. EcJmer, sp., after recognizing that they were iden- 

 tical with certain specimens determined by Eomer as Cala- 

 mopora fibrosa J F. Eomer (non Goldfuss), from Tennessee f. 

 Hinde, in his ' Catalogue,' referred" the species to the 

 Anomocladina, while Zittel | was inclined to regard the skele- 

 ton as Megamorine. While both these naturalists thus 

 recognized and confirmed the sponge-nature of the bodies, 

 Steinmann § has recently declared with great contidence that 

 they, or at least the fossils occurring in the North-German 

 diluvium, and referred to Hindia Jibrosa\\, are not sponges at 

 all, but a species of Favosifes, and that consequently there 

 seems to be no reason for designating the fossil known from 

 Tennessee and from the North-German diluvium by any other 

 name than the original one of F. Eomer, Calamo2Jora-= 

 Favosites, for Hindia possesses not a single one of the 

 peculiarities characteristic of the Siliceous Sponges — no 

 stomachal cavity, no canal-system such as we are acquainted 

 with in Sponges, and no spicular structure ! 



By the gratil'ying suggestion of Prof, von Zittel that I 

 should prepare in association with him a complete monograph 

 of the fossil Sponges occurring in Germany (a work which 

 was commenced some months ago for the Palaeozoic species), 

 I was enabled also to study the question here referred to upon 

 excellent materials from Tennessee and New Brunswick in 

 the Museum at Munich, probably including a specimen made 

 use of by Duncan in his investigations, with some preparations 

 belonging to it ^. At the same time, by the kindness of 

 the owner, Privatdocent Dr. Haas of Kiel, I was able 

 also to submit to examination the specimens from the island 

 of Sylt investigated by Steinmann ; and a specimen from the 

 St. Petersburg Silurian^-*, designated as Chcctetes ijetropo- 

 litanus, which I obtained from Krantz, of this place (Bonn), 

 contributed not a little to add to the certainty of my obser- 

 vations and to demonstrate the identity of the American and 

 German specimens. 



* Hinde, ' Catalogue of Fossil Sponges in the British Museum ' (1883), 

 p. 57, pi. xiii. hg. 1. 



t r. Rcimer, ' Silurfauna westl. Tennessee ' (Breslau, 18C0), p. 20, pi. ii. 

 fig. 2. 



X Neues Jahrb. f. Min. 1884, ii. p. 79. 



§ Ibic}. 188G, i. p. 91 (Brief!. Mitth.). 



II On the occurrence in North Germany, see also F. Romer, ' Lethsea 

 erratica ' (1885), p. 63 (310), pi. iv. (xxvii.), tig. 17, in Dames & 

 Keyser's ' Palaontologische Abhandkuigen.' 



^ Presented by Hinde to the Munich Museum. 



** See F. Rumor, ' Silur-Geschiebe von Sadewitz,' Breslau,lS61 ; what 

 is said of MonticKhpora pctropoUtdnd, p, 26, 



