

On a New Rhabdosphere. 
By Georce Murray, F.RS. 
(Received January 13,—Read February 23, 1905.) 
After the publication by Mr. Blackman and myself in the ‘ Phil. Trans.’* 
there appeared in the ‘ Zoologischer Anzeiger ’t a tract by Professor Ostenfeld, 
of Copenhagen, on the Coccospheres and Rhabdospheres. His main idea 
was to split up the Rhabdospheres (so far as his treatise concerned the 
Rhabdospheres) into two genera, viz., Rhabdosphera of Sir John Murray and 
Mscosphera of Haeckel. 
From the beginning I distrusted Professor Ostenfeld’s discrimination as I 
had distrusted Professor Haeckel’s, and it has now been my fortune to 
discover a new Rhabdosphere which destroys, in my opinion, the idea of 
breaking up the genus Rhabdosphera. | 
Of the species of this genus, the most elusive organisms in natural history, 
there have been but few good specimens. They were derived in the first place, 
in broken-down fragments, from deep-sea deposits, and conjectures were made 
as to their origin. The next stage was the description of the Rhabdospheres 
as surface organisms by Sir John. Murray during the “ Challenger ” Expedition, 
and still later, more completely as I hope, in the ‘ Phil. Trans.,t by Mr. Black- 
man and myself. There are‘only two forms known, and I now propose to add 
a third. The interest is not only systematic, but may have bearings§ on 
geological points and also on the study of deep-sea deposits, which is very much 
the same problem. 
I desire to associate the name of my colleague, Mr. V. H. Blackman (my 
companion in many arduous sea journeys) with this Rhabdosphere, and I 
propose, therefore, its naine shall be Rhabdosphera Blackmanana, G. Murr. 
Its outstanding characteristic is the possession of sharp spinous processes, 
in contrast to the trumpet-shaped and club-shaped processes of the two 
known species. 
The points of general interest are these, viz., the novelty and extreme 
rarity of the Rhabdosphere, and the fact of my never having once met with 
it in the deep-sea deposits or geological specimens so kindly put at the 
disposal of Mr. Blackman and myself by Professor Judd. The minuteness 
* B, vol. 190, 1898. 
+ Vol. 23, No. 612, April 9, 1900. 
t Loc. cit. 
§ Cf. ‘Phil. Trans.,’ B, vol. 190, 1898. 
