Suberites domuncula, Nardo. 31 
situated around the statoblast of freshwater sponges (‘ Annals,’ 
1882, vol. x. p. 367) ; the presence of starch-granules had been 
described in 1856, although not figured until 1859; and now 
I have to announce the latter also in the ovum of the marine 
sponges. 
As this was brought to my notice by cutting up a 
fragment of the ovigerous layer of Suberites domuncula into 
small pieces, when, by pressure, both oil-globules and starch- 
granules made their appearance among the granular contents 
of the ova, I will particularly describe this layer before com- 
paring these ova with those of other sponges. 
Familiar to naturalists as Suberites domuncula, Nardo, ap. 
Schmidt, 1862 (Spong. Adriatisch.), = Hymeniacidon suberea, 
Bowerbank, 1866 (Mon. Brit. Spong. vol. 11. p. 200), has 
been for many years past, viz. from Aldrovandus, at the 
beginning of the 17th century (Johnston, Brit. Spong. p. 142), 
down to the present time, although not recognized as a sponge 
until Col. Montagu described it as such from specimens 
dredged on the coast of Devonshire circa 1812 (Werner. 
Mem. Edin. 1818, vol. ii. p. 100), no one appears to have 
noticed the striking manner in which its ova are deposited in 
a layer on that part of the hard object (generally a dead 
shell} over which it may have grown. 
On the 6th January 1870, after a storm, I picked up on 
this beach (Budleigh-Salterton, South Devon) two specimens, 
and on ihe 4th September 1877 upwards of 150 were brought 
to me from the dredgings of a ‘ trawler” about 20 miles off 
this shore, all of which had grown on dead shells of a similar 
kind, viz. Turritella and small Buccinwm, tenanted either by 
a hermit crab (Pagurus) or annelid. All, oras many as I have 
examined, present the same kind of ovigerous layer, in which 
all the ova are in the same stage of development; so that we 
may infer, from the dates above mentioned and what will be 
stated hereafter, that throughout the year these sponges, if 
containing a dead shell or any similarly hard object, will have 
upon it a similar ovigerous layer. 
Like most of its kind, too, Suberites domuncula not only 
grows over the dead shell, but as it grows encloses a large 
quantity of the fine detritus of the sea-bed in which it may 
have lived; so that it is impossible to free the smallest por- 
tion from this foreign material, and it is on this account equally 
impossible to obtain a satisfactory view of the finer elements 
of which the sarcodic substance of the sponge itself is com- 
posed. 
Kach specimen appears to be but a single individual 
(“ person,” Hiickel), as each has only a single ragged vent 
