206 I. IJIMA : HEXACTINELLIDA. I. 



1806 and 1900, opportunities for the study of that specimen were 

 given ine through the courtesy of my friend, Dr. L. Stejneger, 

 on tlic first occasion, and of Captain J. F. Moser on the second. 

 The only information I could obtain about it was tlie statement 

 on the hxbel : ' Yenns ' Basket, a siliceous sponge from ISOO 

 f'atlioms. Station : Off coast of Chile.' 



A good description of an authentic and well-preserved R. 

 phfjejiix is still a desideratum. In fact only imperfect fragments 

 of the species have as yet been studied with any care ; hence, 

 the somewhat unsatisfactory state of our knowledge. In my at- 

 tempts to identify the 'Albatross' sjjecimen, I found tliat it 

 presented in its structure several points which seemed to be of 

 importance as specific characters, but which were either uncer- 

 tainly or not at all known from li. phwnix, or are perhaps quite 

 wanting in that species. It is therefore with some degree of 

 reserve that I refer the ' Albatross ' specimen to R. phcenlx. 



General Characters. 



The specimen (PI. XI, figs. 1, 2) is of a tubular form, 

 torn off at the lower end. Length about 240 mm., representing, 

 I should judge, nearly three-fourths of the original entire size. 

 Diameter at the middle about 7") mm.; that at the lower end 

 about oO mm. (It has previously been known that the species 

 may attain a height of 500 mm.). 



The wall is thin, not more than o mm. thick in the thickest 

 part. It bends and falls in of itself when taken out of the 

 spirit in which it is preserved. 



The upjier end is rounded, tlie lateral wall closing in slightly 



