Miscellaneous. 65 



however, is probably variable even within the same species ; 

 nor can it be a sexual character, as out of two male speci- 

 mens of Mergana eqiuUnearia in the collection, one has two, 

 the other four tibial spurs. 



I submitted all the synonyms enumerated above to the 

 consideration of Mr. Butler, who kindly endorsed their 

 correctness. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



The System of tJie MonactiucllidiB. By Dr. R. von Lendenfeld. 



The rich collections of Australian sponges in the museums at 

 Adelaide, Christchurch, and Duuodin, which were placed afc my 

 disposal by Dr. Haacke, Dr. J. von Haast, and Prof. Parker, as well 

 as the material collected by myself among the Australian shore- 

 sponges, include about 500 species, of which I have only been able 

 to identify a few with forms already described. I have easily 

 recognized among my specimens a number of the species accurately 

 described by Selenka and Marsball, but have had little success in 

 the identification of the species from the Australian region described 

 by English and Ameiican authors. 



As was very justly foreseen by 0. Schmidt, it is not practicable to 

 I'egard the system of the sponges established upon the Mediterranean 

 fauna, and enlarged through the Atlantic forms, as universally 

 applicable ; uniting intermediate forms make their appearance 

 wbere, from known facts, one would have suspected no relationship. 

 However, the new forms furnish further proofs of the correctness 

 of Zittel's system, and I have taken this as the foundation of my 

 investigations. 



The Calcispongias are few and insignificant. Hesactiuellidas and, 

 singularly enough, Tetractinellida) also are almost entirely defi- 

 cient. Of the latter group I have obtained two specifically different 

 individuals. As Myxospongiaj are also extremely rare (three 

 species), tlie whole mass of the Sponges is distributed in the two 

 groups of the Monactinellidte and Ceraospongise. 



I bave carefully examined the Monactinellida3 especially, and will, 

 in what follows, bring together the most important systematic 

 results of this work. 



AlthoiTgh I worked upon sponges at home for a long time under 

 F. E. Schulze's guidance, and bave also paid much attention to them 

 in Australia, the investigation of so great a number of forms as has 

 latel}' been at my disposal has compelled me to arrive at a clear 

 idea of what is to be understood as a species among sponges. In 

 the siliceous sponges it is here, as elsewbere, merely the form of 

 the spicules, and never their arrangement, that behaves conserva- 



Ann. c!j Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 5. Vol. xiv. 5 



