110 My. H. J. Carter’s Contributions to our 
Aplysina capensis, ni. sp. 
This is the species to which I have alluded in my “ Key 
to the Classification of the Spongida”’ (loc. cit. p. 192) as one 
of those illustrating the Pseudoceratida, whose description 
having been promised in the third part of my “ Notes,” is 
for convenience here given, as follows :— 
Form massive, lettuce-like, foliate ; leaves, fronds, or lamine 
continuous, plicate, thin, erect, proliferous; sessile. Colour 
pink or mulberry-purple. Surface uniformly papillated by a 
thick incrustation in the form of a reticulated structure in 
relief, wherein the interstices correspond to depressions and 
the knots to papillee, from the summits of which respectively 
the attenuated terminal end of a fibre for the most part pro- 
jects. Incrustation composed of foreign bodies—ew. gr. quartz- 
grains, fragmentary sponge-spicules, frustules of Diatomacez, 
&c. Pores and vents respectively situated in the “ depres- 
sions”? of the incrustation, which are tympanized at the 
bottom by the dermal sarcode alone. Internal structure 
cellular; cellular cavities formed by the sarcode intertympan- 
izing the intervals between the branches of the fibre. Sarcode 
dark purple when dry, pink by transmitted hght, charged 
more or less with pink but not opaque dark purple cells: 
colour diffused, not confined to the cells; many foreign 
bodies in the sarcode, viz. quartz-grains &c. Fibre amber- 
coloured, branching, reticulated longitudinally by intertrans- 
verse portions, more or less flaccid when dry, from the small 
amount of horny element and the large size of the axial tube 
or core, which here and there also contains foreign bodies, 
ex. gr. quartz-grains &c. Size variable, that of the specimen 
about 24 inches in diameter all ways; a little broader than 
high, and somewhat expanded towards the top. 
Hab, Marine, on hard objects. 
Loc. Port Elizabeth, Cape of Good Hope. 
Obs. This species, which is placed among the Pseudoce- 
ratida on account of the presence of foreign bodies here and 
there in the fibre, seems to be allied to Aplysina carnosa and 
A. corneostellata, as well as the British species A. nevus, 
dredged on board H.M.S. ‘ Porcupine’ between the north of 
Scotland and the Firée Islands (‘ Annals,’ 1876, vol. xviii. 
p- 229, pl. xii. figs. le and 2). <Aplysina capensis is remark- 
able for the great variety of sponge-spicules and Diatomacean 
frustules in its incrustation, indicating the great variety also 
of Sponges and Diatomaceans that must exist in the locality 
where it grew; while the pink colour which characterizes it, 
being due to the presence of the dermal sarcode more or 
