464 Mr. H. J. Carter on Deep-sea 



on hard objects such as rocks &c., it can easily he understood 

 how hving specimens, as in the following instances, are only- 

 obtained by mere accident. {Euplectella cucumer was acci- 

 dentally brought up by a hook and line at the Seychelles by 

 a fisherman there.) 



Schmidt's CoralUstes polydiscus (Atlant. Spongienf. p. 24, 

 Taf. iii. figs. 8 & 9) appears to me, from the form of its surface- 

 spicule, to be a different species, according in this respect with 

 a large vase-like specimen from the Philippine Islands that I 

 have lately been examining, in which, however, there is, in 

 addition to the acerate flesh-spicule, a small solid one of an 

 elliptical form like that characterizing Pachastrella abyssij 

 while the acerat€ llesh-spicule in all is almost identical with 

 that of Macandreicia azorica. 



Macandreicia azorica^ Gi'ay, 1859, = Bactylocahjx McAndrewiij 

 Rowerbank, lSQd,= Coralh'stes clavatella, Schmidt, 1870. 

 The type specimen of this sponge is in the British Museum, 

 and in general form might be likened to a deep vase with 

 contracted stipitate base and thick wall, becoming deeply 

 undulated as it expands upwards, and terminating in an 

 equally thick round margin, which not only follows the undu- 

 lating form of the wall itself, but is more or less indented 

 irregularly and curvilinearly throughout. It is 5 inches high 

 by 4 inches in diameter in the widest part, of the brim. The 

 inner surface presents a number of circular vents regularly 

 arranged, which, while the dermal sarcode remains on, are 

 single and form the centres respectively of so many sets of 

 superficial, radiating, branched canals converted into gutters 

 by the dermal sarcode, which, when rubbed ofi" or raised, 

 appear in the form of groups of 5-7 or more small holes, that 

 are very characteristic of the species ; while the outer side is 

 covered with minute puncta that represent the pores. The 

 internal structure is composed of the filigreed spicule common 

 to the Lithistina, faced by a dermal layer of three-armed 

 shafts, each arm of which is flattened, spread out horizontally, 

 more or less divided and bordered by a curvilinear toothed 

 edge on each side, while the shaft which projects into the 

 interior is smooth, rather short, round, and pointed. These 

 spicules are imbedded in dermal sarcode charged with a minute 

 acerate, smooth (not microspined as in JDiscoderrnia) , curved, 

 fusifomi, flesh-spicule in great abundance, which, where the 

 curvilinear edges of opposite arms of the great dermal spicule 

 form between them a circular area, are arranged in the sar- 

 code in a radiating manner, extending from the centre to the 

 circumference, so as to leave in the centre a pore, which can be 



