302 Mr. H. J. Carter on 



aspect is so different that, had the former not familiarized me 

 with their character, the latter would hardly enable me to 

 recognize the species. Thus Schmidt's genus Stelospongos 

 would never have become known to me by his illustrated 

 description of the arrangement of the fibre alone, if it had not 

 been for Hyatt's photograph of an entire form, viz. <S. levis, 

 from South Australia (Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. vol. ii. 

 p. 530, pi. xv. fig. 16), of which form there is an abundance 

 in the British Museum. 



It is true that, in the " key " of illustrations to my classi- 

 fication ( l Annals,' I. c. p. 192), I have also given some of 

 Schmidt's species of Hircinia, Nardo, to illustrate the group 

 " Hirciniosa ; " but it will be found, by referring to Schmidt's 

 arrangement (Spong. Adriatisch. Meeres, p. 30 &c), that 

 these, as well as others, are all placed under bis Filifera, that 

 is that the sarcode in all was more or less replaced by the 

 presence of the parasite Spongiojjhaga communis, so that, as 

 genuine illustrations of the " Hirciniosa," neither of these can 

 be admitted. Again, Iiali»poagia choanoides, Bk. , = Stelo- 

 spongos, Sdt., is not an illustration of the group Callhistia, as 

 1 had thought, whose skeleton is much finer, as will be more 

 particularly noticed hereafter ; while Sarcotragus foetidus, 

 Sdt., which was adduced to illustrate the form of the fibre in 

 the group " Platyfibra," is in the same condition as regards the 

 sarcode as Schmidt's Hircinice. This parasitic (?) transform- 

 ation is so prevalent in the Hircinice that it is difficult to find 

 a specimen without it ; and hence Lieberkiilm made it a 

 specific character, which of course was a mistake, especially 

 as it is not confined to the Hircinise only. 



Thus, as I have just stated, there is absolutely nothing 

 that has been hitherto laid down to lead the student to the 

 recognition of any species contained in the groups in my 

 classification to which I have alluded, and therefore it becomes 

 desirable to see how far this want may be supplied by Mr. 

 Wilson's specimens. 



Setting aside then all attempt to interfere with these groups 

 so far as their names are concerned, I would divide the 

 whole into conulated and unconulated Psammonematous 

 sponges, proposing to retain the term " Hircinida " for the 

 former, and adding that of " Liochkotida " for the latter 

 family, with which we will begin. 



Fam . Liochrotida *. 

 Char. Psammonematous sponges on which there are no 

 * Xfid^pooy, smooth-skinned. 



