174 Mr. H. J. Carter on Tethea muricata. 



of Manatiis americanus, those of the other Sirenia being, in all 

 probability, also superior in size. 



Though, perhaps, the size of the red corpuscles cannot, in 

 our present imperfect state of knowledge, be said to throw 

 much light on the affinities of the Sirenia, it would be never- 

 theless interesting to be able to add to the characters of the 

 group that they possess very large red corpuscles, in all 

 probability exceeding in size those of any other group of 

 Mammalia. 



XX. — Note on Tethea muricata, Bowerhank. 

 By H. J. Carter, F.R.S. &c. 



During the examination of the late Dr. Bowerbank's collec- 

 tion of sponges, now the property of the British Museum, I 

 found the type specimen of his '' Tethea muricata^'''' and only 

 noticing at the time that it was identical with Wyvillethomsonia 

 Wallicku, Wright, merely attached this name to it. 



Just now, however, T have received a little Arctic sponge 

 from my old friend Dr. Dickie (late Prof, of Botany in the 

 College at Aberdeen), with the following label, viz. " Lat. 

 75° 15' N., and long. 13° W."— that is, from the Greenland 

 ISea, — and another by Dr. Bowerbank, to whom it had been 

 submitted, viz. " I'ethea muricata^ Bow., MS. The type speci- 

 men is from Vigten Island, Norway, by Mr. M'Andrew." 



Thus it struck me, when recognizing that it also was a 

 specimen of Wyvillethomsonia Wallichii and the same as the 

 type specimen T. muricata, which the late Mr. M' Andrew had 

 obtained by di-edging off Vigten Island, that the latter might 

 have the priority in nomenclature ; so I referred to Dr. 

 Bowerbank's description and illustration of Tethea muricata 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 115, pi. v. figs. 1-6), and there found 

 that Mr. M'Andrew had presented it to Dr. Bowerbank in 1855, 

 and that the latter had named and figured part of it in the 

 ' Philosophical Transactions ' for 1858, pi. 25. fig. 18, and 

 again in 1862, pi. 31. figs. 14, 15. Further on in the descrip- 

 tion, viz. at page 117, Dr. Bowerbank states that Mr. Kent 

 had described a " specimen of the same species " in the 

 ' Monthly Microscopic Journal,' 1870, p. 293, under the 

 designation of " DorvilliaagariciformisJ'^ 



Under the name of" Wyvillethomsonia Wallichii ^^ it was 

 described and figured, from a very young specimen, by Dr. E. 

 Perceval Wright (Quart. Journ. Microsc. Sci. January 1870, 

 p. 7, pi. 11) ; but Mr. Kent's specimen, being older and much 



