PORIFERA OF THE L.M.B.C. DISTRICT. 913 
A single specimen had previously been recorded from 
Church Bay, near Holyhead. On the ‘“‘ Hyena’’ expedi- 
tion of May 25th, 1890, we dredged three specimens in 
Penrhos Bay (10 fathoms) and off Rhoscolyn Beacon 
(12 fathoms), on the west coast of Anglesea. The best of 
the specimens showed a narrow base with four branches, 
three of which were again divided dichotomously. The 
colour was a dull purple. The height of the specimens 
ranges between 4 and 6cm. ‘Their branches are perfectly 
cylindrical, whilst Bowerbank’s* figure shows rugged 
ridges along the branches. Probably Bowerbank’s figure 
is not quite reliable, as it had been taken from a dried 
specimen. 
Raspailia rigida, Montagu. 
Spongia rigida, Montagu, Mem. Wern. Soce., vol. ii., pt. 1. 
Non Raspailza (?) rigida, Ridley and Dendy, Chall. Rep., p. 191. 
The species, which in my former report I regarded as 
Raspailia stelligera, Schmidt, seems in reality to be Mas- 
puilia rigida, Montagu. Topsent’s+ recent paper has 
drawn my attention to this fact. ‘There are two species 
of the genus Laspailia, Nardo, which possess stellate 
spicules, both first described by Montagu under the names 
Spongia stuposa and Spongia rigida, the latter differing from 
the former by having much shorter branches and larger 
stellate spicules. Bowerbank considered the Sp. rigida 
merely as a dwarfed variety of Sp. stuposa, and included 
both in the name Dictyocylindrus stuposus. But Topsent 
shows that they are really distinct species. Consequently 
as my specimens have very short branches indeed and 
comparatively large stellate spicules, | consider them to 
be Raspailia rigida, M. As stated by Topsent, the Rus- 
* Bowerbank, loc. cit , vol. i., pl. xvi. 
+ Emile Topsent, loc. cit. 
