History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

520 ZOOPHYTA. SPONGIAMI. Halichondria.Hemispherical one or two inches in diameter attached ; ;by a flat, softbase ; pale green, with a tinge of* yellow ; when fresh, it exhales an offensiveammoniacal odour ; the surface is nearly smooth, but by drying it becomesvillous, and when worn a little, muricate by the extremities of the bundlesof fibres ; the fibres decrease in size from the circumference ; the spicula arelong, of unequal lengths, fusiform, and where they reach the centre they areextremely fine, forming a dense, villous nucleus ; the animal matter separatingthe fibres is small in quantity from the ; arrangement of the fibres ahorizontal section may be easily made, while a vertical one cannot be effectedwithout difficulty.92. T. sphcBrica.— Surface thickly covered with tuberclesdestitute of hairs.Donatio Mer Adriat. G2, t. x. f. 1— Alcyonium Lyncurium, Linn. Syst.i. 1295 — Spongia verrucosa, Mont. Wem. Mem. ii. 117, t. xiii. f. 4,6.— Coast of Devon.Diameter about an inch and a " quarter ; globose, of a yellowish colour,extremely verrucose, and fleshy, which becomes very hard by drying, and isof considerable gravity even in that state ; the warts on the surface are approximating,irregular in shape, and destitute of any pore ; the internal partor nucleus iscomposed of fasciculate fibres, connected by the animal gluten ;these fill the Avhole internal cavity, and radiate to the centre, appearing likethreads of asbestus."— Mont.Gen. XLIII. HALICHONDRIA (x«a