496 Zoological Society : — 



cular cells, which look like the cells of the Polypes in the two Al- 

 cyonia above referred to. The apertures are destitute of radiating la- 

 minae ; they appear in their dry state to be subdivided into six or eight 

 small circular tubes, and have all the appearance of being the cells of 

 a pinnated-tentacled zoophyte. The small part of the lower surface 

 of the spongy axis, which is exposed, is pierced with minute perfo- 

 rations, and the upper surface is furnished with groups of larger 

 pores, which, as far as I can judge without injuring the specimen, 

 are placed under the cells above described. There are grooves di- 

 verging from the small cylindrical perforations in one of the groups 

 to the perforations in the other groups. 



I have thought proper to call the genus after the gentleman who 

 discovered it, and who has been very liberal in doing all in his power 

 to extend our knowledge of zoology and geology, and has several 

 times placed his yacht at the command of scientific men, to assist 

 them in their researches. 



The genus may be thus defined : — 



MacAndrewia. 



Cup-shaped, expanded, more or less sinuated or lobed, affixed by 

 a more solid dilated base, covered with a fleshy bark, which is fur- 

 nished with cells on the upper surface, supported by a very light 

 porous silicious spongy cup-shaped axis, the upper surface of which 

 is furnished with groups of small cylindrical pores placed in roses, 

 and with grooves radiating between each group of pores ; the lower 

 surface uniformly porous. 



MacAndrewia azorica. 



Hab. St. Michael's, Azores, 1851 (Robert Mac Andrew, Esq., 

 F.R.S., ^c). 



This sponge ? has so much the general appearance and habit of a 

 zoophyte with pinnated tentacles like the Alcyonium to which I 

 have referred above, that I am as yet by no means certain that it may 

 not be the product of such animals ; but I have not been able to 

 find any traces of the remains of them, and therefore must wait the 

 arrival of some other specimen preserved in spirit to determine the 

 fact. At the same time the bark is unlike that of any sponge that 

 I am acquainted with, the existence of such a bark on any true 

 sponge being as yet unknown to me. On the other hand, the ex- 

 istence of an axis of the spongy texture and the silicious composi- 

 tions found in this marine body are novelties in the order of zoophytes 

 in which its general appearance would lead one to place it. But 

 that is no reason why it may not prove to be a zoophyte, as the 

 same may be said to be the case vdth regard to the genus Hyalonema, 

 the axis of which is so anomalous that several of the French zoolo- 

 gists — Valenciennes, Milne-Edwards, and others — considered the bark 

 of it as a parasite on some unknown substance, overlooking the fact 

 that the bark is strengthened by fibres exactly like those of which 

 the axis is composed. Such an idea would require a belief in the 



