i$2 S P O N G I A, 



At fig. 2. is a magnified part of the flem of the Sertu- 

 laria, with fome of the wart-fhaped cells of the Alcyo- 

 nium upon it. 



XVI. SPONGIA. SPONGE 



Animal fxum, flexile^ Is an animal that is fixt, 



polymorphum, torpidiffi- flexible, and very torpid, 

 muni^ contextum vel e Ji- growing in a variety of forms, 

 hris reticularis) vel e fpi- compofed either of reticulated 

 nulls, gelatina viva vef- s fibres, or maffes of fmall fpines 

 this y interwoven together, which 



are clothed with a living gela- 

 tinous flefh full of fmall 



Ofculis feu forammi^us mouths or holes on itsfurface, 

 fuperficiei aquam re/pi- by which it fucks in and 

 ram. throws out the water. 



As to the nature and formation of Sponges, I mall re- 

 fer the reader to my letter on this fubjed, addreffed to 

 Doctor Solander, publifhed in the Philofophical Tranfac- 

 tions, Vol. 55. p. 28©. I fhall only add, that the tex- 

 ture of them is very different in different fpecies ; fome 

 being compofed wholly of interwoven reticulated fibres, 

 when others are compofed of little maffes of ftrait fibres 

 of different fizes, from the moft minute fpicula? to ftrong 

 elaftic mining fpines, like fmall needles of one-third of 

 an inel long; befides thefe, there is an intermediate fort 

 betw ; n the reticulated and the finer fafciculated kinds, 

 which feem to partake of both forts. 



But I muft obferve here, that thofe that are compofed 

 the ftronger and larger bundles of elaftic fibres, like 



needles, 



