170 Prof. A. Dendj on 



tlic cc)nfi<lcnt opinion that his sponji^c is identical with the 

 Sj)ou(/la i))fuiidibii/ifonnis of Ijinnanis. 



The shortly-stalked, tliin-walled, widely funnel-shaped 

 form of the sj)onge is highly characteristic when taken iu 

 conjunction with the skeleton arrangement and spiculation. 

 The species seems to occur abiindantly in the nciglibonrliood 

 of the Shetland Islands and Hebrides. Bowerbank records 

 it from as far south as Gnernsey. 



Gray saw quite correctly that this species could not 

 rightly be included in Bowerbank^s genus Jsodicfya, nor 

 yet iu the older genus Ilalichondria, but he was very unfor- 

 tunate in the diagnosis of his new genus Tragosla, which is 

 quite inadequate. It runs as follows : — 



"Sponge funnel-shaped or fan-shaped, branches anasto- 

 mosing, minutely hispid. Skeleton regularly netted. 



" ' The spicula of the primary lines of tlie skeleton are 

 needle-shaped, with their apices directed inwards j those of 

 the secondary lines are fusiform.' " 



I do not know why the second paragraph of this diagnosis 

 is placed iu inverted commas by Gray, but it contains a 

 singular error, for the apices of the styli are, of course, not 

 directed inwards, but, as usual, outwards. The character 

 which seems especially to have impressed Dr. Gray in 

 founding his genus is tiie presence of the two kinds of 

 n:egascleres, stylote and oxeote, the former in the primary 

 and the latter in the secondary lines of the skeleton. As 

 this feature also occurs in Bowerbank's Isodictya dissintilis, 

 Gray includes that species in his Tragosia. It was Dr. 

 Bowerbank, however, mIio first pointed out the similarity 

 of the two species in this lespect, although they are very 

 diff'Jient as regards external form. 



The genus Tragoaia has been accepted by Vosraaer, 

 Ilanitsch and Topsent. The former, in Bronn's ' Klassen 

 uud Ordnungen des Tlucrreichs ' [1887], reproduces a 

 figure of the external form from Bowerbank, but he does 

 little, if anything, to improve the diagnosis. I cannot, 

 moreover, agree with him in considering Schmidt's genus 

 Vribrochulina [1870] as a synonym of Tragosia. Schmidt's 

 description leaves very little doubt that the type of his 

 genus at any rate — C'. infundibidum — is a true Chalinine 

 sponge. Nor has the suggestion that Carter's Semisuberites 

 [1877] may be another synonym been justified by sub- 

 sequent events. 



Hanitsch [1894] adds nothing to our knowledge of the 

 genus, but his diagnosis is interesting because he expressly 

 f?tates that there are no microsclcres. Topsent also, although 



