Report on the zoological collections made in the Indo-Pacific Ocean ...

SPONGIIDA. 627preparation, although he says that the range is great) ; and I do notfind in Schmidt's species the small raultiradiate stellate which occurshero ; the granulations on the surface of the disk are much coarserin this species. In having lost the trifid head of the zone-spicule itexhibits the same tendency as that which seems to have led inAncorina aaptus, Schmidt, to the loss of all tetraradiate characters.Early stages of the acerate spicule (no. 3) exhibit the central inflationfound in the young acerates of some Benierce Siud Sponc/ilUda;.51. Stelletta acervus.Ecionemia acervus, Bowerbanh, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 322.There appears to be only one form of minute stellate; thosestellatcs in which the arms are small, relatively to the body, seem to bethe young form of the longer-armed adult ; the arms are very slightlycapitate, as shown by Dr. Bowerbank's preparations and stiU moreplainly in the present specimen, and vary in number from about 5to about 12. The small acerates are scantily present in the cortex.Dr. Bowerbank considered his specimen to have been originallyfixed, but the actual base was absent ; the present specimen isdecidedly free, and has an oval shape.Hab. Etoile Island, Amirante group, 13 fms.Distribution. Fiji Islands {Bowerbank).52. Stelletta purpurea, var. parvistella, nov.See Part I., p. 473, of this <strong>Report</strong>.A small oval specimen 7| miUim. long, destitute of a vent, and ofa purple colour, undoubtedly represents this species in a somewhatmodified form. Thus the stellates do not exceed -0095 millim. acrossthe arms, and usually measure about '007 millim., and the arms aregenerally more numerous than in the Australian specimens. Theskeleton-spicules are also somewhat smaller, viz. :—diameter of shaftof zone-spicule "032 millim., of anchor about -023 millim., of acerateabout -025 millim. ; the arm of the zone-spicule curves boldly backwards,but does not make an angle in its course like that of var.retrojiexa, mihi. The small size of the skeleton-spicules is perhap?partly due to the youth of the specimen. The variety approaches theform obtained in the Arafura Sea the most closely.Hab. Providence Reef, Mascarenc group, 24 fms.