dredged up from the Gidf of Manaar. 439 



but observing them to be abundant and as beautiful as they 

 are varied in form, while many are evidently not British, I 

 have placed such of them as, in breaking up the nodules for 

 other organisms, were necessarily separated, in a box by 

 themselves, for some one who, desirous of describing the 

 exotic species, may one day be permitted to examine them 

 for this purpose. 



For my own part, the Foraminifera and Spongida are as 

 much as I can pretend to undertake ; and these, together with 

 a new genus of the Hydractiniidas and a new species of Tubi- 

 pora, will be found described and illustrated in the following 

 pages. 



But although the forms of the Foraminifera that I have 

 mentioned are fully developed, and therefore admit of complete 

 description and illustration, those of the Spongida in several 

 instances are not so. Then it should be remembered that the 

 form of a fully developed sponge is frequently by no means 

 constant, while e\ery fragment of it is almost sure to contain 

 its whole spiculation ; and this alone is what is found in many 

 cases on the Melobesian nodules. Hence, the name of a sponge 

 being for the most part derived from the form of its spicules, 

 this enables us to supply it, together with a description of 

 the latter, which is all that is required until a fully developed 

 form is found. 



Before commencing these descriptions, however, I would 

 observe that the mountings that I have made of some of the 

 dust that fell off the root-branch of Euplectella cucumer (now 

 in the British Museum) which was hooked up by a fisher- 

 man in deep water off the Seychelle Islands afford a complete 

 index to the Manaar specimens, with many other forms besides, 

 which may yet exist in the neighbourhood ; but I have not 

 met with any traces of jold among the sand obtained from 

 some of the nodules, although the blue sapphire which is found 

 in Ceylon is as evident in them as in the sea-bottom from the 

 Seychelles (' Annals,' 1878, vol. i. p. 102). 



Another fact I would also here mention, viz. that through- 

 out my examinations, which have chiefly been conducted 

 under the microscope, and often with high powers, I have 

 never observed a Coccoltth, Coccosphere, or Rhabdolith. 



The descriptions and illustrations respectively of the new 

 genus of Hydractiniidge and new species of Tubiporidaj will 

 be found in this part of my communication for convenience of 

 publication &c, rather than on account of proper sequence; 

 this will be corrected in the terminal list of the " Report." 



30* 



