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XV. — Atlantic Sponges collected by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. 

 By Jane Stephens, B.Sc. Communicated by Dr W. S. Bruce. 



(MS. received March 22, 1914. Read June 15, 1914. Issued separately May 5, 1915.) 



(Plates XXXVIII-XL.) 



The sponges in the following report were collected in the North and South 

 Atlantic during the Scotia's voyages to and from the Antarctic regions in the years 

 1902-1904. 



All the sponges in the collection were obtained off the south-west coast of Cape 

 Colony, with the exception of five well-known species which were taken off St 

 Helena, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Princesse Alice Bank. Only one specimen 

 was dredged in deep water, namely, in 350 fathoms off the Princesse Alice Bank, 

 while the remainder were taken between tide-marks to a depth of 30 fathoms. 



The collection contains thirty -five species, of which fifteen are described as new. 



To complete the list of sponges obtained by the Scotia in Atlantic waters, mention 

 may be made here of one species which is not contained in this report. This species, 

 Cladorhiza thomsoni, dredged in deep water between Gough Island and the Cape 

 of Good Hope, has been described by Professor. Topsent (24 and 25). It was taken 

 at Station 468, 39° 48' S., 2° 33' E., depth 2770 fathoms. 



The five species above referred to, Leucandr.a crambessa, Aphrocallistes beatrix, 

 Tethya lyncurium, Chondrosia plebeja and Cho'ndrosia reniformis, call for no special 

 remark. They have all been previously obtained in, or fairly near, the areas for 

 which they are here recorded. 



With regard to the South African specimens, the collecting was confined to a 

 short stretch of coast-line from False Bay to Saldanha Bay. The South African 

 collection, as a whole, is characterised by the comparatively large size of the 

 specimens, by the scarcity of small encrusting species, by the almost complete absence 

 of calcareous sponges, and, consequently, by the rather small variety of species for 

 the number of specimens obtained. These are, however, features usually observed 

 in a collection of sponges which form part of a general gathering of animals obtained 

 in such a limited period of time as that which was at the disposal of the workers on 

 board the Scotia when, on her return voyage from the Antarctic, she paid a short 

 visit to South African waters. 



Apart from the general characteristics of the collection thus touched upon, a 

 noteworthy feature is the all but complete absence of horny sponges, a group one 

 would have expected to find fairly well represented in a shallow-water collection 

 from this region. The only horny sponge present is a small fragment, too incomplete 

 to identify, consisting as it does merely of macerated fibres. 



Many of the sponges living between tide-marks were quite unattached to any 



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