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138 T H E A T L A N T I C . [ c h a p . II.
this single sjieciinen owing to deficiency of silica or
some such cause, or whether the specimen ought to
he regarded as the type of another species, I am not
yet prepared to say. I have seen small specimens of
the ordinaiy form with the spicules soldered together,
apparently perfect, hut short and without the lid,
and I always supposed these to be the young; but
from Avhat Ave knoAv of the intimate structure of the
skeleton it Avould seem probable enough that the
spicules may remain separate for a time in early life
during the expansion of the creature and the development
of its form.
The fine species (Fig. 29) for Avhich I propose the
name E u p l e c t e l l a s u b e r e a , of Avhich three specimens,
all unfortunately more or less injured, AA^ere taken in
the traAA'l, forms a holloAV cylinder ahout 25 centimetres
in length hy 5 centimetres in diameter. The
AA'alls are composed as in E . a s p e r g i l l u m of a fundamental
square-meshed siliceous net-Avork, hands of
spicules running longitudinally from end to end of
the sponge, and transverse bands intersecting these
at right angles. The spicules are in some cases
straight and smooth, frequently four projecting
knobs ranged round the centre of tbe shaft of tbe
spicule show that in essential form tbe spicule is
six-rayed, and often one of the side rays is strongly
developed and projects to a distance of balf an inch
or more from the surface of the sponge. The spicules
are all free from one another, and those composing
the bands can easily be teased asunder Avitli a pair
of needles. In tbis species, as in E . a s p e r g i l l u m ,
the corners of the square meshes are filled up,—a
pale-brown corky-lookiug sul)stance reducing them
CHAP. I I .] F R O M P O R T S M O V T H T O T E N E R I F F E . 139
to round tube-like holes and rising into spirally
F i u . ‘¿ 9 .— E u p l e c l e l l a s x i h e rm , W v v i l l e T h o m s o n . l i c d u c c d o n e - t l u r d . ( . \ o .