448 Mr. H. J. Carter on the 



shaped, to the solid stem of which stick-like fragment the 

 foregoing specimen appears to have considerable resemblance. 

 As the latter constitutes the type of a new species of Farrea, 

 some specimens of which were taken in the living as well as in 

 the deciduous state, it is necessary, for future reference, to give 

 a particular description of it at once, which will now follow under 

 the designation of " infundibuliformis." 



Farrea infundibuliformis, Carter, n. sp. PL XVII. figs. 1-4. 



Vitreo-hexactinellid. Infundibuliform, consisting of a head 

 (fig. 1, a) and stem (fig. l,b). Stem subround, solid, composed 

 of interlacing, branched, mixed with rectangular lattice- 

 like fibre. Head funnel-shaped, formed of an expansion 

 of the stem composed of a layer of rectangular lattice-like fibre 

 in the centre (fig. 2,bb), covered on each side by one of branched 

 vitreous fibre, whose branches diminish in size as they increase 

 in number towards the circumference (fig. 1, c, 2, a a) ; reticu- 

 lated and anastomosing obliquely throughout. Rectangular 

 fibre strongly spined and formed of an extension of vitrified 

 sarcode over a regular rectangular arrangement of large sex- 

 radiate spicules. Branched fibre minutely spined (fig. 2, cc), 

 and more or less charged with minute sexradiate spicules, 

 smooth and pointed or spined along the arms and at the ends, 

 confusedly arranged (fig. 1, dd, & fig. 3), some of which are 

 only partially enveloped, and others only cemented by one end 

 (fig. 3, a) to the fibre. Interstices lined with sarcode charged 

 with rosettes. Rosette many-rayed; rays sigmoid, capitate, ex- 

 panded and arranged en fleur-de-lis (fig. 4) ; head of ray convex, 

 spined round the margin. Size : diameter of funnel-shaped 

 head about an inch, depth about -^ ; thickness of wall at the 

 margin, which is broken, t 't mcn '■> length of the portion of 

 stem remaining W ; diameter of the same close below the 

 head -fa inch. 



Hab. Marine. 



Loc. Caribbean Sea. 



Obs. There are three specimens of the vitreous skeleton of 

 this sponge in the British Museum, all about the same size and 

 shape, but all more or less imperfect on the margin of the 

 funnel-shaped expansion, which, being very thin, has no doubt 

 been broken away by the dredge or " tangle " in which the 

 specimens were taken. The stem in each also appears to have 

 been broken off at the end, where it was just branching into 

 three or more divisions, as if these divisions had terminated in 

 the roots by which the sponge had been attached to some sub- 

 marine object, and from which the specimens respectively had 

 been broken off by the dredge or tangle. 



