38S -Mr. 'J\ Iligi^iu on Labaria hcmisplijevica. 



sliaft (fi,L,^ 7) ; the crucial anu.s of which, thickly studded with 

 short obtusely pointed s})ines, are bent downwards, as if to 

 embrace or tit to the arms of the large spicules on which thej 

 rest. 



The strongly woven-togcther basketwork of the interior, as 

 seen through the investing network, is composed of: — smooth 

 spicules of the sexradiate type (that is, aceratc with sinij)ly 

 a central cross indicating their hexaetinellid character) ; acerate, 

 with four tubercles at tlie middle of the shaft ; sparsely spined 

 acerates, the spines bent towards the middle of the spicule ; 

 four-rayed, tive-rayed, and six-rayed spicules, the long arms 

 of which are bent together in all varieties of ways ; amongst 

 these are large and small eight-armed ^'birotulates" with dome- 

 shaped heads, and some very minute ones ; small sexradiate 

 spicules, the arms of which are furnished towards the free end 

 with three, four, or five long spines projecting in the direction 

 of the free end of the arm, but soon becoming bent outwards 

 (fig. 14) ; also a small acerate spicule in great abundance 

 peculiar to the species, furnished Avith fine spines not very 

 close together, all of wliich are bent towards one end of the 

 spicule, increasing in length along one third of the spicule 

 (viz. from the end /)-o»« which they look), and tlien gradually 

 diminishing again from this point to the other end of the 

 shaft (fig. 11) ; and plumose spicules in great variety. 



Size : — extreme transverse diameter 4h by 4 inches ; depth 

 3^ inches ; diameter of hollow at the labrum 3| by 3 inches ; 

 depth of hollow 1^ inch ; diameter of base 3 by 2f inches ; 

 length of bundles of anchoring-spicules 3 to 3i inches. 



JIab. Marine. 



Loc. Cebu, Philippine Islands. 



Obs. The position of the large smooth nail-like spicules is 

 readily seen in the figure, which is drawn from a photograph of 

 the sponge ; and the elevations and depressions on the surface, 

 caused by their arms being slightly bent inwards towards the 

 shaft, are also easily observed. The large areas enclosed by 

 the arms of these large spicules crossing each other are sub- 

 divided again and again by smaller spicules of the same foi-m ; 

 and the fine network so caused has no doubt suj)ported the 

 dermal sarcode, stretched membrane-like upon it and pierced 

 with pores. But this sarcode does not now^ exist in this mem- 

 branous form, having apparently contracted round the lines of 

 spicules forming this dermal reticulation, and thus left holes 

 bordered by spicules, which were filled up by pores respectively 

 circumscribed by sarcode. The plumose s})icules are all seen 

 about the lines of the network ; and if they have ever rested 



