160 Mr. A. Dendy 07i the 



high by 85 millim. broad and about 3 millim. thick, and 95 

 millim. high by 67 millim. broad and about 3 millim. thick, re- 

 spectively. Colour in the dry state light brick-red. Texture 

 hard and fairly tough. Surface marked with longitudinal ridges 

 and furrows ; minutely hispid. The dermal membrane appears 

 to have been almost entirely rubbed off. Tn the present con- 

 dition of the specimens it is almost impossible to discover the 

 arrangement of the pores and oscula ; but there is no reason 

 to doubt that they are arranged here as in other species of the 

 genus, viz. the oscula on one surface and the pores on the 

 other. 



'J'he skeleton is reticulate, with stouter, polyspiculous^ 

 longitudinal fibres. The crossing fibres are very irregularly 

 developed and ill-defined. There is not very much spongin 

 present. 



The spicules are smooth, more or less curved styli (PI. XI. 

 fig. 2 a) , well rounded off at the base, and gradually sharp- 

 pointed at the apex. Size about 0*4 by O'OlB millim. 



This is a pretty little species with a characteristic external 

 appearance. I have great pleasure in dedicating it to my 

 friend and late colleague Mr. S. O. Ridley, M.A., who has 

 for many years held a distinguished position amongst spong- 

 ologists. The species is remarkable on account of its small 

 size, if we may be allowed to judge of this from only two 

 specimens, and also on account of its red colour. 



Raspailia fruticosa, n. sp. (PI. XII. figs, 2, 2 a.) 



Sponge (PL XII. fig. 2) erect, consisting of a bushily ramose 

 mass of fairly stout, cylindrical branches placed upon a short 

 peduncle. Most of the branches appear to have arisen by simple 

 furcation of pre-existing ones ; but some few are given off in 

 the form of small secondary branches from older and stouter 

 primary branches. The branches anastomose freely at 

 points where they come in contact with one another ; all 

 of them tend vertically upwards and end in blunted apices. 

 There are three specimens present ; the largest measures 150 

 millim. in height and 120 in greatest breadth, while the 

 diameter of the branches averages about 7 millim. Two of 

 the three specimens are distinctly compressed in one plane. 

 Colour (dry) dark brown. Texture rather hard and brittle. 

 Surface very distinctly hispid and covered all over with 

 numerous minute perforations, which appear to be the oscula. 



The skeleton is distinctly reticulate ; it consists in the first 

 place of a more concentrated axial portion occupying the centre 

 of each branch, from which primary fibres radiate upwards 

 and outwards to the surface of the sponge. These radiating 



