Sponges from South Australia. 307 



brim, narrowing gradually towards the stem ; margin or brim 

 undulating, round. Consistence firm, tough. Colour " brown- 

 grey " when fresh, much the same now. Surface of the 

 excavation a little smoother than that of the outside, which is 

 slightly uneven, consisting of the dermal sarcode charged 

 with sand, especially on the outside, which, together with the 

 layer of subdermal cavities, is about 3-4'8ths in. thick. Pores 

 plentifully scattered over the dermal incrustation outside. 

 Vents uniformly scattered over the whole of the inner surface 

 of the vase or only halfway down, also a few on the outer 

 surface, but none on the margin. Structure consisting of 

 sand-cored and clear keratose fibre of an amber colour, sup- 

 porting in its reticulation the sarcodic elements of the paren- 

 chyma, traversed by the branches of the excretory systems, 

 whose large canals are directed across the wall, that is from 

 the subdermal pore-cavities on the outside to the vents on the 

 inner side of the vase, giving off a number of small branches 

 in their course in the opposite direction; while the main 

 branches of the fibre, following the same course as the large 

 canals, indicate a transverse structure generally, in contra- 

 distinction to that of another species (viz. Hircinia infertexta) 

 that will be described presently, in which the structure is 

 longitudinal or parallel to the wall. Size of specimens, total 

 height 9 in., including the stem, which is 2i in. long and 1£ 

 thick ; width across the brim 6 in. ; wall near the stem f in. 

 thick, gradually diminishing upwards. 



Hab. Marine. 



Loc. Port Phillip Heads, South Australia. Depth 20 fath. 



Obs. Examined in the wet state. Generic name taken 

 from that of the town near the place where Mr. Wilson's 

 dredgings were carried on. There are two specimens of this 

 species, in one of which the vents only extend halfway down 

 the surface of the excavation, while in the other they are 

 continued to the bottom ; but otherwise they are much the 

 same. Both specimens are in halves, which, by being 

 doubled, enable me to give the dimensions above mentioned. 

 This is the first species which I have briefly described in my 

 observations on the " Circulation in the Spongida " (anted: 

 p. 120) as affording an example of the opening of the pores 

 through the subdermal cavities directly into a large excretory 

 canal, &c. 



Such vasiform Psammonematous sponges are not new to 

 me, as there are five dry specimens in the British Museum, 

 all of which belong to the same species, and, all being more or 

 less alike, afford the most satisfactory instance that has come 

 under my notice of the replacement of the natural sarcode by 



