DESMACIDON. 171 



1867 Gellius rdbuata, Gray, Proo. Zool. Soc, p. 538. 



1867 Biemma Jeffreyaii, Gray. Proc. Zool. Soc, p. 539. 



1868 Oceanwpia Jeffreydi, Norman. Last Report of Dredging 



among the Shetland Isles, Brit. Assoc. Rep., 1868 

 (1869), p. 334. 



It is beyond my compreliension how any one could 

 place this species and D. fruticosus in the same genus ; 

 now that the structure of Oceanapia Jeffreysii is known. 

 Dr. Bowerbankj in referring to my description of 

 Oceanapia, the genus I established, to receive this 

 species, quotes a single sentence only of the generic 

 character, and subsequently states (III, 161), that I 

 "proposed to make it the type of a new genus under 

 the designation of Oceanapia from the similarity in 

 form of the bulbous mass of the sponge to a swede 

 turnip," and then goes on to argue against establishing 

 genera on external form ! In justice to myself, and 

 for the information of the student, I think it well to 

 quote here the following account of the sponge which 

 I gave in the ' Brit. Assoc. Report,' 1868 ; but leave 

 it to others to adopt or reject my genus as seems best 

 to them : 



" Genus. — Oceanapia,* Norman, n. g. 



" Sponge consisting of a hollow sphere filled with 

 sarcode, surrounded by a hard spongeous crust of a 

 very close and compact nature. From the opposite 

 poles of the axis of the spherical or ovate body of the 

 sponge there spring more or less numerous, simple, or 

 branched fistulse of great size and length j these 

 fistula are also furnished at their base with prolon- 

 gations which, passing inwards into the central cavity 



* Ocecmus, and na^s, a turnip. 



