40 Mr. H. J. Carter on 



V. — Descriptions of Sponges from the Neighhourhood of Port 

 FhiUip Beads, South Australia, continued. By H. J. 

 Cakter, F.R.S. &c. 



[Continued from vol. i\i. p. 368.] 



Pursuing the plan which has been adopted in revising the 

 other orders of the Spongida, I will premise the following 

 tabular view of the original arrangement of my order Holo- 

 rhaphidota {op. et loc. cit.) thus : — 



Order VI. HOLORHAPHIDOTA. 



Families, Groups. 



1. Amorphosa. 



2. Isodictyosa. 

 3 Thalyosa. 

 4. Crassa. 



1. Benienda -{ 5. Fibulifera. 



6. Halichondrina. 



7. Hyndmanina. 



8. Esperina. 



9. Hymedesmina. 

 10. Cavernosa. 



„ t, , .,., ] 11. Compacta. 



2. Suhertttda -^ 12. Laxa. 



( 13. Donatina. 



114. Geodina. 

 15. Stellettina. 

 16. Tethyina. 

 . Ti 7 J J7 ■ 7 \ 1 7. Pachastrellina. 



4. Pachastrelhda -j ^g^ Lithistina. 



6. Potamospongida 19. Spongillina. 



The diagnosis for this order — viz. " Possessing a skeleton 

 whose fibre is almost entirely composed of proper spicules 

 bound together by a minimum of sarcode; form of spicule 

 variable," — was proposed for those sponges which, from the 

 absence of that amount of keratine or horny material in 

 their fibre that renders the orders IV. and V. (although 

 they too possess " proper spicules," that is, spicules formed 

 by the sponge itself) more or less resilient or sponge-like, 

 are'niore or less tender, fragile, and easily broken by pressure, 

 varying in consistence from a crumb-of-bread character 

 in the Amorphosa to the almost stony hardness of the 

 Lithistina ; so that in the more limited acceptation of the 

 word " sponge " the latter would not be considered sponges 



