212 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Miilleri). The former species was also found near Eoundstone, Co. Galway. 

 A number of preparations of Dr. Battersby's specimens are to be seen in the 

 Bowerbank Collection of Sponges in the British Museum. Of these tlie 

 slides of Spon{)ilIa lacustris, from the " Lake of Killarney," are correctly 

 named. One prepai-ation labelled SpoiigiUa Parfitti, from the same locality, 

 is almost certainly Udcromcyenia Rydcri ; gcmmule spicules are absent, but 

 skeleton-spicules agree exactly with those of specimens recently collected in 

 the neighbourhood of Killarney. A section of a sponge from Caragh Lake, 

 also labelled UponyUla I'urfitli, contiiins a number of gemmules; ihegemmule 

 spicules are very irregularly shaped, but the section is apparently taken from 

 a specimen of Eyhydatia Midlcri. 



In the "Irish Naturalist " for 1893 Dr. Scharf!" records the finding of a 

 specimen of Kphydatw Jiuviatilis in the liiver Barrow, and Dr. Creighton the 

 finding of SpoiujUla lacustris in Columbkille Lough, Co. Donegal. The latter 

 epeciuiens were later on named Tubella pcnnsylvanica Potts, by Dr. Hauitsch, 

 but eventually they proved to be Uctcromcycnia Ryderi I'otts. 



About this lime Ur. Schartl' collected fresli-water sponges in several parts 

 of Ireland, and sent them to Dr. Hanitsch for idenliticaliou, with the result 

 that the latter, after a preliminary notice in " Nature," published an 

 extremely interesting paj>er in the ' Irish Naturalist " in 1895 on tlie fresh- 

 water sponges of Ireland, discussing the general distribution of the group, 

 and reviewing the state of knowledge of the European Sponyillidac. In this 

 paper Dr. Hauitsch announced the discovery in Ireland of three species of 

 frcsh-wtttur spoiigos up to that lime known only in North America. These 

 were Udcroiiuyaiui liydcri rolls; Tubvlla pcnnsylvanic<i I'olts, and 

 Ephydatia cralcriformis I'olts. Tiie ideutitication of the last-named was 

 considered doubtful. The author also gave descriptions of three other species 

 at that lime known to occur in Ireland, namely, UpmiyUii lacu-niris, Ephydatia 

 fiuciaidii, and EphydiUia MuUcri, adding a description of Uponyilla frayilis, 

 with the remark that the species was sure to be found some day in Ireland. 

 That statement has since been justified by the discovery of the species in 

 several parts of the counlr)'. With reference to Hdcromcycnva Jiyderi, 

 'I'ubclla painsyUanica, and Ephydalia craUri/omiis, the first only has been 

 found subsequently in Ireland. It proves to be the commonest species in the 

 areas in which it occurs. The question of the other two species will be 

 discussed later (p. 214). It must suthce for the present to stale that the 

 supposed specimens of these species jiroved to be Hdcrmncyenia liydcri. 



It has long been known that certain plants and invertebrates are common 

 lo the west of Ireland and to North America, and the allvutiou of workers at 

 the problems of geographical distribution was naturally attracted by the 



