dredged up fiom Bass's Straits. 381 



Skeleton- spicules chiefly confined to the body ; flesh-spicules 

 to the circumference, on tlie (?) upperside and darker portions, 

 arranged perpendicularly in juxtaposition, with tlie spinous 

 disk of one end outwards. Size of largest specimen (for there 

 are two) about 1^ inch in horizontal diameter and l-8th inch 

 thick. 



Hob. Marine. 



Log. Bass's Straits. 



Ohs. I have ah-eady described and illustrated a species of 

 this kind from the Red Sea (' Annals,' 1879, vol. iii. p. 298, 

 pi. xxvii. figs. 1-4), but with a differently formed sceptrellura 

 and of a light colour ; the form of the skeleton-spicule, how- 

 ever, is nearly the same — that is, acerate, not acuate like that 

 of another much larger and light-coloured undescribed species 

 from the south-western coast of Australia, viz. " Freeman tie," 

 tliat of the species dredged up by H.M.S. ' Porcupine ' in the 

 Atlantic Ocean, and that first named and described by Bocage, 

 viz. Latrunculia cratera from St. lago, in all of which 

 the sceptrellura is differently formed. 



In consistence Latrunculia purpurea is very much like 

 Halicliondria suherettj Johnston, = /lS't<5e?'^tes domuncula^ Sdt., 

 and in the manner of growtli upon the mussel-shell very much 

 like Halichondria ficus^ Johnston. 



AxONA. 



In 1867 Dr. Gray gave the name of Axos Cliftoni to an 

 unknown sponge whose spicule only had been figured by Dr. 

 Bowerbank in 1864; and in 1873 Dr. Bowerbank described 

 the sponge itself under the name of Dictyocylindrus dentatus^ 

 without any allusion whatever to Dr. Gray (for reference in 

 extenso see ' Annals,' 1879, vol. iii. pp. 284-285, where the 

 subject is fully considered and therefore need not be repeated 

 in detail here). Taking Dr. Gray's name " Axos^'' for the 

 genus, I have added two new species {op. et loc. cit.), and 

 now find among Capt. Warren's dredgings from Bass's 

 Straits (for all the species so far come from the south coast of 

 Australia) two more, which, however, differ so much from the 

 original one, viz. Axos Clrf'toni=lJictyocylindrus deutatus. 

 Bk., that, if they are found to be still further multiplied, it may 

 be necessary hereafter to divide them into genera ; wherefore 

 it seems desirable at once to make a group of them under the 

 name " Axona," with the following characters : — 



AxONA, n. group. 

 Form variable, surface aculeated ; aculeations consisting of 



