PhUiijpinc-Iiiland Sj^onjcs. 135 



then, by repetition of a sliorter kind, are continued on to the 

 apex, where they also form a circle of tufts round the margin 

 of the apical aperture- 

 Genus 1. Meyerina. 



III. This group, which is equally abnormal, has the hexa- 

 radiate spicules with very short cubic rays. The genus Axos 

 alone belongs to this group. 



I have described this sponge under the name of " Meyer ella 

 daviformis^' Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist, for July 1872, p. 76 ; 

 but as I am told that the generic name of '"''Meyerella''' has been 

 used for a genus of small Lepidoptera, I propose to alter this 

 name to Meyerina claviformis. 



Dr. Meyer brought a second specimen of this beautiful 

 sponge. The club is rather smaller compared with the size 

 of the stem, which is considerably thicker than in the other 

 specimen. The elongate transparent spicules by which the 

 sponge is anchored to the bottom are placed in very numerous 

 cylindrical fascicles rather close together in a circle on the 

 edge of the truncated circular base of the stem of the sponge. 

 These cylindrical rope-like fascicles may be seen to extend 

 in the way above mentioned throughout the whole length of 

 the body, terminating in small tufts of naked spicules round 

 the apex of the club ; while the whole surface appears covered 

 with hexaradiate spicules, like those of Holtenia — that is to 

 say, with the external end of the axis abortive. 



Mr. Carter has kindly examined this sponge microscopically, 

 and in a note observes : — " It is a true Carferia, so nearly 

 allied in the form of the spicules that but for its general form it 

 might be a second species of the genus. The net-like struc- 

 ture over this sponge is just that of Carteria in spicular com- 

 position, as already mentioned." 



The discovery of a second species of the genus, or rather 

 family Carteriada^ decidedly shows that the sponge that is 

 found parasitic on the Hyalonenia cannot be a part of that 

 genus, as Dr. Bowcrbank, Dr. Wyville Thomson, and others 

 have supposed ; for no one can believe for a minute that the 

 free claviform Philippine Carteria is any part of a Hyalonenia, 

 which it ought to be if the attached Japanese Carteria is only 

 a state of that genus, or that one species of the genus is only 

 a state of another most distinct genus, and the other s])ecies a 

 distinct genus by itself; for ^wxaXj Meyer-ina claviformis is net 

 a state of Hyalonema ! Indeed J\Ir. Carter observes that ^^ Meye- 

 rina is more nearly allied to Holtenia than Carteria ; but th<y 

 are both allied in their spicules and differ chiefly in +Aeir 



