108 ACCOUNT OF BRITISH SPONGES. 



cone, with a very short stalk, which is of a corky* 

 nature internally, but superficially porous like the 

 other parts ; the hollow spreads like the bowl of 

 a wine-glass, becoming smaller at the bottom : 

 on the surface, there are some trifling inequalities 

 or depressions, and the margin is slightly and ir- 

 regularly lobed : in the texture it may be placed 

 amongst the finer sponges, the pores being small, 

 and appearing fibrous when examined with a lens. 



The height is about two inches and a half ; 

 depth of the bowl nearly two inches ; diameter 

 of the margin, the same ; that of the base, half 

 an inch ; colour, pale-brown. 



It may be proper here to remark, that this 

 species is much thicker in all its parts than ^centi- 

 labrum, has the pores of the sponge considerably 

 finer, and so closely interwoven, as to be imper- 

 vious to light: it is firm, and does not readily 

 yield to moderate pressure, and has no flexibility. 

 With such opposite characters, it can never be 

 confounded with either the crateriform variety of 

 'ventilabrum, or with infundibuliformu ; whether 

 this is constant to a cyathiform-shape, must be left 

 for the determination of our northern zoophy- 

 tists. 



The species here described, was, as I have be- 

 fore mentioned, taken by Mr Fleming in Zetland, 

 who kindly favoured me with it amongst other 

 productions of those islands. To that gentleman^ 

 therefore^ we may look with reasonable expecta- 



