Report on sponges from the coastal beaches of New South Wales
Abstract
The collection consists of about six hundred and thirty specimens; of these forty belonged to the commercial class, representing about twelve species and varieties, seven of which may be regarded as having an economic value. In Dr. von Lendenfeld's Monograph of the Horny Sponges, there are sixty-one species and varieties enumerated under the genera Euspongia and Hippospongia, both of which furnish the sponges of commerce. Of the sixty-one forms, thirty-five are recorded as occurring in Australasian waters, and seventeen of these are recorded for New South Wales; the remainder are chiefly confined to North and West Australia. Of the thirty-five forms mentioned, six are identical with the bath sponges usually sold in Sydney; three of which are stated to occur on the New South Wales coast. These are as follows:—Euspongia discus, D. & M.; E. zimocca, Schulze; and Hippospongia equina, var. elastica, Lendenfeld. To these may be added Euspongia Illawarra, sp. nov.; E. irregularis, var. areolata, var. nov.; E. irregularis, var silicate, Lendenfeld; E. irregularis, var dura, Lendenfeld; and Hippospongia mollissima, Lendenfeld. These eight forms are all represented in the collection except E. zimocca, Schulze; the first three can be purchased at any dealer's store in Sydney, and the remaining five are fairly common on the coast. Of the latter, from an economic point of view, Eusponqia illawarra is the most important, being quite equal, if not superior, to many of the kinds used for domestic purposes. The texture is soft, elastic, tough, and durable, and the main fibres are entirely free from foreign bodies, such as sand grains and spicule fragments, which are invariably present in fibres of the imported bath sponges. In Dr. Lendenfeld's tabular lists enumerating the contents of the main fibres, only four out of a total of sixty-one forms are given as being free from foreign bodies, but these are not noted as being of economic value:—
Euspongia irregularis, var. areolata, var....
