82 



MR. H. J. CARTER ON A COLLECTION OF 



not be taken into account ; for a short sojourn in any part of the 

 world can only give the prevailing features, while the more ex- 

 ceptional ones can only come to notice by an extended residence, 

 so that the wonder is that, in so short a time, Dr. Anderson 

 should have done so much at King Island in respect of the 

 Spongida. 



Again, the nature of the sea-bottom makes a difference in 

 regard to sponges, as they undoubtedly prefer clear water and a 

 sandy or rocky sea-bed to dirty water ; yet, like most animals, 

 and even man himself, they will, if their lot has not been cast in 

 a too uncongenial locality, adapt themselves to it, that is live and 

 thrive there in spite of all its difficulties. Thus, even if we did 

 not know it for a fact from Dr. Anderson himself, the appearance 

 of the specimens of this collection would testify to their having 

 grown more or less in the neighbourhood of dark grey mud, i. e. 

 " on stones and rocks in the muddy flats of the north-eastern 

 side of King Island," and yet they are large, numerous, and 

 beautiful. 



Although neither the Carnosa (of my classification) nor the 

 Ceratina are represented, there are many large specimens of the 

 Psammonemata, among which is the ubiquitous " Polytherses" 

 of Duchassaing and Michelotti (Caribbean Sponges, 1864), first 

 described and well illustrated by the late Dr. Bowerbank under 

 the name of " Stematumenia " (Ann. 1845, vol. xvi. p. 406, pi. xiv. 

 figs. 1-5), and shown by myself to be a Hircinia transformed into 

 this state by, or into, a terminally-bulbed filament, for which I 

 proposed the name of Spongiophaga communis in 1871 (see Ann. 

 & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1878, vol. ii. p. 165 et seq. and illustration). 

 This is not an instance of what has lately been termed " sym- 

 biosis," where two organisms live together without injuring each 

 other, even from a very early period, but one of the destruction 

 of the whole of the sarcode or vitalized portion of its host the 

 J I ircinia, which is thus replaced by this filament. After these 

 comes a new and beautiful species of Dysidea with its varieties in 

 J;n ge quantity. The IIiiai'HIoonemata are not so profusely, but 

 M ill well represented by a large specimen of another ubiquitous 

 sponge, viz. Chalina oculata, here assuming a strongly-marked 

 variety. Of the Ecin non kmata there are several specimens, but 

 fchey are chiefly small, among which is the British one named by 

 Dr. Bowerbank " Dictyocylindrm hispidm," It is in the ITolo- 



