151 
forming the skeleton fibres; very stout, with a slight bending in the 
first half, thickest in the middle, from here tapering to the only a 
little narrower base, and to the somewhat finely-pointed apex. 
Length 455—676 thickness 20—33 length about 550 the 
most common. b. small styli: shape the same as big ones; length 
from 190—403 ///, by a thickness of 8—17 i.i\ most common are 
sizes about 220 f-v hy 10 2. sigmata, regular or contorted, 
I up to 40 1.1 in length. 3. rhaphides, up to ca. 50 in length, 
straight, thickest in ths middle. 
Sigmaxinella pulchra nov. sp. 
Carnley Harbour. 45 f. Sandy clay. 6/XII.1914. 
Several specimens. Branching and anastomosing to a high degree. 
Biggest specimen up to 200 mm in length; from ca. 2—10 mm 
in thickness. The branches consist of a very firm and rigid central- 
axis, from which looser skeleton-fibres arise obliquely, building the 
rest of the branches. Often the branches are cylindrical, but they 
may also have longitudinal furrows so deep and large that the 
branches may be folded out along with these furrows into flattened 
leaf-shaped bodies; and sometimes there are 2—5 furrows, and 
thus the branches in transverse sections will appear more or less 
star-shaped. In most places the sponge is so macerated, that the 
dermal-membrane and much of the underlying tissue is dissolved ; 
but where it is preserved, the dermal-membrane is seen to be thin 
and pellucid. Oscula? ostia? Colour light reddish, especially the 
stem, which is pale coral-red. 
Skeleton may be divided into two very disctinct parts; that of 
the axis and that of the peripherical skeleton. 
The axis consists of very densely packed and entangled spicules; 
so dens3 are they that it is very difficult to press a knife through 
the axis where it is thick. These spicules are for the main part 
strongyla; however strong this impression of the disorder of the 
spicules: there is a trace of longitudinally running spicules, even 
in the thickest pell-mell. Distinet fibres cannot by far be made out, 
but we may say, that spicules with the axis in the direction of 
the sponge-axis in some places are denser than in other places; 
I these spicula-tracts cannot be followed very long, they soon will 
