THE GENERA AHO SPECIES OF ROSSELUD/E. 



(Preliminary Notice.) 

 By Prof. i. I J IMA, Ph. D. 



Having finished sometime since my studies of the Rossellid materials con- 

 tained in the Science College Museum, I propose to give here a brief notice of 

 the results arrived at with respect to the system of family Rossellidae. Taking 

 into account the characters of not only parenchymal microscleres, but also as far 

 as possible of megascleric elements, I have been led to divide the family into four 

 subfamilies, synoptically shown as follows : 



a'. Dermalia not diff rentiaded into autodermalia and hypoder- 



milia. No oxyhexaster present among intermedia. . A. Leucops'jcinœ. 



a". Dermalia d i fièrent i al ed into autodermalia and hypodermalia. 

 Oxyhexaster generally present among intermedia, 

 b'. Without oct asters. 



c'. With plu micomes ; with or without oxyhexastcrs is. Lanuginellinœ. 



c". Without plumicomes ; oxyhexasters always present c. Rossel lince. 



b". With octasters ; oxyhexasters always present d. Acanihascinœ. 



The definition of the family itself may remain as it stands (F. E. Schulze, 

 Revision d. Syst. d. Asconematiden u. Rosselliden. Sitz.-ber. k. pr. Akad. Ber- 

 lin, 1897). 



A. i.hiioi'.SAf i.v.i; 



Dermalia not distinguishable into autodermalia and hypodermalia, but con- 

 sist of large pentactins, which are but little differentiated from parenchymal 

 megascleric hcxactins beyond the total absence of sixth, distally directed rays.* 

 Gastralia, hexactins or pentactins, or both. Parenchymal megascleres contain 

 large or medium-sized hexactins (except in Cavlocalyx), together with diactins in 



* This character of dermalia and the presence of well-developed hexactins as parenchy- 

 mal megascleres probably represent a more primitive condition tlian what we find in other 

 subfamilies. 



