Sponges from the Atlantic Ocean. 313 



cellous, crumb-of-bread-like. Colour yellowish white. Spicules 

 of two kinds, viz. skeleton- and flesh-spicules. Skeleton-spicules 

 of two forms, viz. : — 1, large, acuate, smooth, curved, abruptly 

 pointed, 40- by l-1800th inch (PI. XV. fig. 37, a); 2, subskele- 

 ton-spicule, small, acerate, subfusiform, smooth, curved, with 

 slightly inflated oval ends, 22- by ^-ISOOth inch (fig. 37, h). 

 Flesh-spicules of three forms, viz.: — 1, a small equianchorate, 

 shaft slightly curved, arms slightly expanded, 9-6000ths inch 

 long (PL XIII. fig. 19, c) ; 2, bihamate {fibula), C- or S- 

 shaped, simple, smooth, sharp-pointed, 16-6000ths inch long 

 (fig. 19, c^) ; 3, a tricurvate or bow, compasses-like, a little open, 

 microspined, bulbous at the extremities, 9-6000ths inch long, 

 distance between the ends 6-6000ths inch (fig. 19, e^f). The 

 large acuates and small acerates with inflated ends make up 

 the cancellated skeleton-structure, while the flesh-spicules are 

 dispersed throughout the sarcode occupying its interstices. 

 Size of specimen, that of the concavity of the piece of the bi- 

 valve shell which it occupies, viz. about 1 by ^ inch square ; 

 wholly incomplete in general form — in short, as before stated, 

 a " mere fragment," 



Hob. Marine, on hard objects. 



Loc. In a jar numbered " 24 and 25 — 1870 ;" that is, in 

 292-374 fathoms on the north side of Cape St. Vincent. 



Ohs. This small imperfect specimen, designated " hulbosa^'' 

 from the bulbous ends of the tricurvate, was obtained from 

 the locality and depth above mentioned, during the cruise of 

 the ' Porcupine ' to the Mediterranean Sea (see Report, 

 Roy. Soc. Proc. No. 125, vol. xix.). It is accompanied by a 

 small fragment of Reniera fibulata, Sdt., a rolled one of Coral- 

 listes Bowerbankit {?) , about f inch in diameter, and two rolled 

 portions of Askonenia-STpicnles matted together with sand and 

 mud. The pincers or compasses-like form of the tricurvate is 

 not uncommon (see ' Annals,' 1874, vol. xiv. p. 248, under 

 Halichondria forcipis). Schmidt also represents one in Des- 

 macidon (Esperia) anceps ; but here only one arm has the 

 bulbous extremity (Exped. German. 1871, " Kieselspongien," 

 Taf. i. fig. 4, described at p. 432) ; this specimen, which came 

 from the coast of West Greenland, is figured with an inequi- 

 anchorate flesh-spicule (fig. 7). 



Cribrella hospitalis, Sdt. (PI. XIII. fig. 18, and PI. XV. 



fig. 36, a, b.) 



As this sponge has already been named and described by 

 Schmidt (Atlant. Spongienf. p. 56), and I have identified our 

 specimens with his slide in the British Museum, there can be 



