Mr. H. J. Carter on a Variety of Spongilla Meyeni. 247 
or part of a specimen of this species is known to exist in any 
museum. 
10. Balena cisarctica, the Black Whale of the whalers of 
the east coast of the United States of America, may be the same 
as B. nodosa. There is a skeleton in the Museum of the Aca- 
demy of Sciences, Philadelphia; and it is probably a skeleton 
of this species that “is exposed to all weathers on the roof of 
the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts.”’ (See Agassiz, Rep. 1864-65.) 
How far the species indicated range beyond the habitats 
whence they were received is yet to be discovered and re- 
corded. No doubt their range is influenced by many local 
circumstances (peculiarities in the currents, and disposition of 
the food) that are not easily observed or understood. For 
example, Capt. Maury observes :—‘‘'The Sperm-Whale, ac- 
cording to the result of this chart, appears never to double 
the Cape of Good Hope. It doubles Cape Horn. Since this 
fish delights in warm water, shall we not expect to find off 
Cape Horn an under-current of warm water heavier with its 
salt?” (Maury, Whale-Charts, p. 267.) 
XXXIL—On a Variety of Spongilla Meyeni from the River 
Exe, Devonshire. By H. J. Carter, F.R.S. &e. 
Spongilla Meyent (Ephydatia, Gray)*, var. Parfitt’, Carter. 
Massive, flat, more or less lobed, sessile, spreading. Colour 
eenish, yellowish. Texture friable. Structure reticulate. 
Beod-lik> bodies spheroidal, accumulated towards the base, 
largest about +4, inch in diameter. Spicules of skeleton 
fusiform, slightly arched, acerate, abruptly pointed, largest 
ss inch long; of two kinds, smooth and spinous ; one-third 
of the largest thickly set with short vertical spines through- 
out, except towards the points. Spicules of seed-like body 
birotulate, =;;5 inch long, more or less sparsely scattered 
throughout the wall of the seed-like body, wherein they are 
arranged vertically, with the outer rotule projecting a little 
beyond the amorphous (siliceous?) substance that chiefly 
| — the whole together; rotules deeply dentate, stellate, 
wider in diameter than the spicular shaft which unites them; 
‘shaft cylindrical, the same size throughout. 
Hab. River Exe, Devonshire ; Salmon-pool Weir, near Exeter. 
On a beam of wood over which the water falls. In masses 
attainmg a maximum length of 1 foot, with 13 inch thick- 
ness (Mr. Parfitt). 
* Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. May 9, 1867, p. 550. 
