48 ' Gray on Sponges. 



1786 ; Bruguiere, in the French Encyclopedia; Lamark, in his 

 Systeme ; Bosc, Cuvier, in his Regne Animal ; and Lamouroux, 

 in the Bulletin Philomatique, have given nearly the same charac- 

 ters, only leaving out or adding a few words of no consequence, as 

 Solander, respecting their being formed of spiculas and fibres, and 

 Cuvier, that the animal jelly is destitute of any organs, or polypes ; 

 but Lamoiiroux, in his Histoire^ has placed the marine and fresh 

 ■water species in one family with this character, which plainly 

 shews that he is doubtful of the animal structure, " polypiers 

 spongieux, inarticules, poreux, formes de fibres entrecroisees en 

 tout sens coriacees ou cornees, jamais tubuleuse et enduites 

 d'une humeur gelatineuse, tres fugace, et irritable suivant quelques 

 auteursy • 



From these characters it appears that the greatest dependance is 

 placed on the living principle existing in the gelatinous coat ! which 

 appears to be the most essential and the animal part of the sponge. 

 But to what class of animal does it belong ? for its form, as the last 

 mentioned author has stated is subordinate to that of its habitation ! 

 is it only an animated mass ! which it is possible to divide without 

 destroying its vital principle, and in which there is no sensible or- 

 ganization ! without any apparent voluntary movement, or only 

 such as cannot be seen by the eyes of modern zoologists ; destitute 

 of a mouth or any kind of organs ; or is it in a word an animal dif- 

 fering from all other animals. Blai?iville, in his new distribution, 

 has observed this anomolous structure, and has formed a sub-king- 

 dom in his animal kingdom, for the reception of it, and the Mo- 

 nadaires, and the Corallines^ under the name of Heteromorphes 

 or Heterozoaires, from their irregular shape. But it unfortu- 

 nately so happens that the sponges and corallines have very little 

 afiinity with the monadaires or acrita of Macleay, which are free 

 animals almost entirely formed of cellular substance, without any 

 visible fibres or bouy structure. 



Lamarck^ in consequence of the similarity remarked by Ray and 

 Pallas of this genus to alcyonium, places it next to that genus and 

 thus characterizes it in the Annales du Museum and in his Histoire: 

 Polypariu7n polymorphum, fixum, molle, gelatinosum et subirritabile 

 in vivo. Exsiccatione, tenax, flexile, porissimum, aquam respirans. 



