114 Mr. II. J. Carter on the Gemis Rossella. 



the bottom of tlie Antarctic Ocean by Sir J. Ross, in 300 

 and 206 fathoms and in 74^° and 77^" south huitudc respec- 

 tively, ^^vllieh, with other deep-sea specimens obtained at the 

 same time, had been handed over to'.thc British Museum by 

 the Admiralty. 



For the sponge from which these spicules were supposed to 

 liave been derived I proposed the generic name of "7i'c6.s<7/a," 

 and for the species "/^. antarcfica'' ('Annals,' 1872, vol. ix. 

 p. 414, pi, xxi.). One form of the spicules was regarded as 

 podal or anchoring, and the other as belonging more directly 

 to the body of the sponge. 



In the same year another specimen of this genus was ob- 

 tained by the British Museum from Cebu, one of the Philip- 

 pine Islands, through Dr. A. B. Meyer ('Annals,' 1872, vol. x. 

 p. 113), and named by Dr. Gray ^^ Bossella pJiilijypensis'''' 

 {ih. p. 137). 



In March 1873 four more specimens of the same sponge 

 were obtained by the British Museum from the same neigh- 

 bourhood, again through Dr. Meyer ; and from their having 

 a different aspect, Dr. Gray proposed for these the name of 

 "Fsetalia glohulosa^^'' stating that they would be described by 

 myself more particularly thereafter ('Annals,' 1873, vol. xi. 

 p. 234). 



Subsequently (that is, in the month of June following) I 

 received from Prof. Wyville Thomson the specimen of R. 

 velota from which his iigm-e in ' The Depths of the Sea * 

 (p. 418) was taken. 



And in the month of March 1874 a glass jar was discovered 

 in the British Museum, containing two small specimens of the 

 veritable Rossella anfarcfica, dredged up by Sir J. Ross in 

 300 fathoms, 74^° south latitude, no doubt at the same time 

 that the fragments of the Tethja antarctica and the spicules 

 above mentioned were obtained. 



Thus provided, I have been able to compare all these spe- 

 cimens, and find that they all belong to one genus, viz. ^05- 

 sella^ but that the Antarctic, Philippine, and Atlantic deep- 

 sea ones possess peculiarities entitling them to be consi- 

 dered three different species. These peculiarities will appear 

 in the following descriptions respectively, beginning with 

 that of 



Rossella antarctica, Carter. PI. X. fig. 4. 



General form sac-like, compressed (? nat.), with the upper end 

 truncated and open, and the lower one conical and closed 

 (fig. 4, a). Aperture elliptical, more or less elongate, corre- 



