LEPAS. 47 



SPONGE ACORN 



15. Lepas spongiosa. L. testa sexvalvi, conica; valvulis acuminatis, 



spinosis. 

 Shell of six valves, conic ; valves sharp pointed and spiny. 

 Mont. Test. Brit. Suppl. p. 2. pi. 17. f. 4, 5, 6. 



We are indebted to Mr. Montagu for the knowledge 

 of this curious species of Lepas. It has six wrinkled, 

 spiny, sharp-pointed valves, the three anterior of which 

 are broader and shorter than the others. The base of 

 the shell is flat and concentrically wrinkled. There is 

 a singular appendage to this base, which is unknown in 

 any other species of the genus. It is a little cup, 

 rounded at the bottom, and fixed by a ligament to the 

 circumference of the base. This cup is hollow within, 

 and, according to Mr. Montagu, exactly resembles the 

 Patella antiquata inverted. It is an appendage inde- 

 pendent of the rest of the shell, with which it has no 

 communication internally. The operculum has four 

 valves, the anterior pair rough with decussated striae, 

 the posterior pair longer and a little hooked forward. 

 The colour is livid-brown with a purple tint towards the 

 point of the summit. 



Inhabits a particular species of sponge, in which it 

 is found so inclosed that no part of the shell is visible, 

 except the points of the operculum. Several of this 

 species were found by Mr. Bryer of Weymouth, in 

 Portland reach. 



