SPONGIIDA. 43ii 



lateral margins reverted at upper end ; tubercle strong, oval; breadth 

 and length of small end about half those of larger end; length of 

 spicule - 12 millim. (3) Small inequianchorate ; shaft slender, sharply 



bent at about middle; larger end about three fourths of total Length 

 of spicule in length and about half that amount in breadth ; the Lateral 

 arms as seen from front finely curved and forming long wing-like 

 processes, pointed below and excavated on their inferior and inner 

 aspcets, reaching almost to the upper edge of the smaller end id' the 

 spicule: their curve coincides with that of the lower end ; smaller 

 end like that of the large inequianchorate, but truncate at its distal 

 extremity; length of spicule "032 millim. (4) Bihamate, contort, 

 slender, curve wide, points sharp : size - 057 by '0032 millim. 

 (5) Trichites, in sheaves of Id to 20 or 30; finely pointed, appa- 

 rently straight, each about '032 Long by '001 6 millim. thick ; very 

 abundant in some parts of dermal membrane. 



J lab. Thursday Island, Torres Straits, 4-6 fms. ; bottom rock and 

 sand. 



Distribution. Freemantle, S.W. Australia (Carter)'!; Indian 

 Ocean (Schmidt)? 



The larger piece is 43 millim. (1| inch) long, by 20 millim. (f inch) 

 broad, by 10 millim. thick ; it is uncertain whether it ever had an 

 independent stem or whether it depended for attachment on the frag- 

 ments of shells tfce. which it involves in its substance, or on fixed 

 foreign bodies ; the smaller piece is similar in its relations, and 

 perhaps both originally formed part of one specimen. 



The large anchorate strongly resembles that figured by Schmidt 

 (/. c. supra) as belonging to " cine indische Esperie," named Mycale 

 grandis by Gray (I.e.), in the form of its larger end, although the 

 anterior palm is relatively larger than in that form, while the middle 

 palm of the lower end is far smaller relatively to the spicule and 

 to the lateral palms than in Schmidt's anchorate ; but it seems likely 

 from its appearance that the lower end of the spicule was imper- 

 fectly developed in the example figured by Schmidt. The spicule 

 was even larger than that of our species, viz. -145 millim. long, 

 according to Schmidt's measurement. Gray's species is based simply 

 on that author's description of the spicule. 



PH0RI0SP0NGIA. 

 Marshall, Zeitschr. iviss. Zool. xxxv. p. 1'2'J. 



The striking structural character on which this genus was 

 founded receives confirmation and illustration from the following 

 species : I have referred to it as occurring in Clathria { Microciona) 

 tuberosa, Bowerbank (see p. 444), Fibularia anehorata, Carter, from 

 Antigua (Ann. & Mag. N. H. 1882, ix. p. 283), is perhaps a Phorio- 

 spongia. 



72. Phoriospongia fibrosa. (Plate XLII. fig. g.) 

 Massive, sessile, irregularly shaped; surface uneven, with irregular 



