1345
lT ' SlTE HKGNUM animale.—the animal sub-kingdom.
^ Vi sio\ i_ Invektebrata.—Invertebral Animals.
*'®*il, anti , < i est ' tute °f a vertebral column anti an internal skeleton. Skin sometimes os-J erel»y forming an external skeleton. Nervous system not always evident.
■ Ver »ot w
cbdivision 1 . ACRITA, Macleay.
system indistinct, diffused, or molecular, (Owen, Cyclop, of Anat. art. Acrita.)
Ci
s . ' Ass 1- Poriphera, Grant. — Poripherous Animals.
b ^hrfila^’ af|llalic animals, with a fibrous axis, without perceptible nerves orv is C() . en ' s ' or organs of sense, or any circulating or glandular organs. TheirC° Se >ana st P0Sed a so ^ gelatinous flesh, traversed internally with numerous,** ate in l ar ' IIIIOSI1J s canals, which commence from superficial minute pores, and ter-o cr , open vents (Grant, Brit. Annual, for 1838, p. 267).
Spongia officinal lis, Linn. E. I).— The Officinal Sponge .
u ° !!i ' Aristotle (Hist, de Anim. lib. i. cap. ix. p. 16, Tolosa?,^ lle0us * acquainted with the sponges, and notices the popular but] *oo u , r ° PU,ion op ^eir shrinking when attempted to be plucked.eSs irr eo . ' Gen. Char .— Body soft, very elastic, multiform, more orI'f'eit ar > very porous, traversed by numerous tortuous canals which. d of s e V lall y by very distinct vents ( oscula ), and composed of aX tlv ' a !-jcartilaginous skeleton, anastomosed in every direction, andG J;f ltlout spicules (De Blainville, Man. d'Actinol. p. 529, 1834).it ten a A - R ' Musses very large, flattened and slightly convex above,p a th. p l0lls ’ coarsely porous, cracked and lacunose, especially be-^yp. c,J n f. S roun d, and for the most part large (Lamouroux, Hist, des
of SgS P-°, 1816).
d 1 * e sea • ® res to r °cks by a very broad base. When first taken outo 6e P b row d has a strong fishy odour. Its colour varies from pale to„ 111 . yellow. It often contains stony or earthy concretionsJN t(/ ° n d lf trum) which Bley ( Pharm. Centr.-Blatt. fur 1834, S. 273)al So CO,ls * st principally of the carbonates of lime and magnesia." it i are / OUlK i in sponges. Various marine animals pierce andUn - 11 0 irregular holes. The animal nature of sponge is by nob^sts Emitted; indeed a considerable number of the na-
4 °8g’s 0 v tle present day regard it as of vegetable origin (see Mr.bfo’ifiS) ai ' a li°ns on this subject, in the Linn. Trans, vol. xviii. p.363b'etn i, 1 vegetable, its position, in a natural classification, will betfoV^Y 8 ''® and Fungi .
p' da nds 11 f^ le and Mediterranean Seas . Chiefly collected about
l ^ le Grecian Archipelago.
for — d 'he inhabitants of the Greek islands collect sponge byl ^. p* 1 '. in their submarine operations they carry with them actice enables them to remain a considerable time under water^ 4 R