The descriptions in this volume are based on specimens in the collection of the Indian Museum, the Trustees of which, by the liberal manner in which they have permitted me to travel in India and Burma on behalf of the Museum, have made it possible not only to obtain material for study and exchange but also to observe the different species in their natural environment. This does not mean to say that specimens from other collections have been ignored, for many institutions and individuals have met us generously in the matter of gifts and exchanges, and our collection now includes specimens of all the Indian forms, named in nearly all cases by the author of the species, except in those of species described long ago of which no authentic original specimens can now be traced. Pieces of the types of all of the Indian Spongillidæ described by Carter have been obtained from the British Museum through the kind offices of Mr. R. Kirkpatrick. The Smithsonian Institution has sent us from the collection of the United States National Museum specimens named by Potts, and the Berlin Museum specimens named by Weltner, while to the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg we owe many unnamed but interesting sponges. Dr. K. Kraepelin and Dr. W. Michaelsen have presented us with specimens of most of the species and varieties of freshwater polyzoa described by the former in his great monograph and elsewhere. We owe to Dr. S. F. Harmer, formerly of the Cambridge University Museum and now Keeper in Zoology at the British Museum, to Professor Max Weber of Amsterdam, Professor Oka of Tokyo, and several other zoologists much valuable material. I would specially mention the exquisite preparations presented by Mr. C. Rousselet. Several naturalists in India have also done good service to the Museum by presenting specimens of the three groups described in this volume, especially Major H. J. Walton, I.M.S., Major J. Stephenson, I.M.S., Dr. J. R. Henderson and Mr. G. Matthai of Madras, and Mr. R. Shunkara Narayana Pillay of Trivandrum.
The following list shows where the types of the various species, subspecies, and varieties are preserved, so far as it has been possible to trace them. I have included in this list the names of all species that have been found in stagnant water, whether fresh or brackish, but those of species not yet found in fresh water are enclosed in square brackets.
| IndianSpongillidæ. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name. | Type in Coll. | Material Examined. |
| Spongilla lacustris subsp.reticulata | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla proliferens | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla alba | Brit.and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| [Spongilla alba var.bengalensis] | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla alba var.cerebellata | Brit. Mus. | Specimens compared with type. |
| Spongilla cinerea | Brit. and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| [Spongilla travancorica] | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla hemephydatia | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla crateriformis | U.S. Nat. Mus. | Co-type. |
| Spongilla carteri | Brit. and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| Spongilla carteri var. mollis | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla carteri var. cava | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla carteri var. lobosa | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla fragilis subsp.calcuttana | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla fragilis subsp.decipiens | Amsterdam Mus. | Co-type. |
| Spongilla gemina | Ind.Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla crassissima | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla crassissima var.crassior | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla bombayensis | Brit. and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| Spongilla indica | Ind.Mus. | Type. |
| Spongilla ultima | Ind.Mus. | Type. |
| Pectispongilla aurea | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Ephydatia meyeni | Brit.and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| Dosilia plumosa | Brit.and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| Trochospongilla latouchiana | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Trochospongilla phillottiana | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Trochospongilla pennsylvanica | U.S. Nat. Mus. | Co-type. |
| Tubella vesparioides | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Corvospongilla burmanica | Brit. and Ind. Mus. | Schizotype. |
| Corvospongilla lapidosa | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| IndianCœlenterates of Stagnant Water. | ||
| Hydrozoa. | ||
| Hydra oligactis | Not inexistence. | |
| Hydra vulgaris | Not inexistence. | |
| [Syncoryne filamentata] | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| [Bimeria vestita] | ?Not in existence. | |
| [Irene ceylonensis] | Hydroid in Ind. Mus., Medusa in Brit. Mus. | Hydroid type. |
| Actiniaria. | ||
| [Sagartia schilleriana] | Ind. Mus. | Types. |
| [Sagartia schilleriana subsp.exul] | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Indian Polyzoa ofStagnant Water. | ||
| Entoprocta. | ||
| [Loxosomatoides colonialis] | Ind. Mus. | Types. |
| EctoproctaCheilostomata. | ||
| [Membranipora lacroixii] | ? Paris Mus. | |
| [Membranipora bengalensis] | Ind. Mus. | Types. |
| EctoproctaStenostomata. | ||
| [Bowerbankia caudata subsp.bengalensis] | Ind. Mus. | Types. |
| Victorella bengalensis | Ind. Mus. | Types. |
| Hislopia lacustris | ?Not in existence. | |
| Hislopia lacustris subsp.moniliformis | Ind. Mus. | Types. |
| EctoproctaPhylactolæmata. | ||
| Fredericella indica | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Plumatella fruticosa | Not in existence. | |
| Plumatella diffusa | ?Philadelphia Acad.[[J]] | |
| Plumatella allmani | Notin existence. | |
| Plumatella emarginata | Not in existence. | |
| Plumatella javanica | Hamburg and Ind. Mus. | One of the types. |
| Plumatella tanganyikæ | Brit. and Ind. Mus. | One of thetypes. |
| Stolella indica | Ind.Mus. | Type. |
| Lophopodella carteri | Brit. Mus. | Type. |
| Lophopodella carteri var.himalayana | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
| Pectinatella burmanica | Ind. Mus. | Type. |
The literature dealing with the various groups described in the volume is discussed in the introductions to the three parts. Throughout the volume I have, so far as possible, referred to works that can be consulted in Calcutta in the libraries of the Indian Museum, the Geological Survey of India, or the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The names of works that are not to be found in India are marked with a *. The rarity with which this mark occurs says much for the fortunate position in which zoologists stationed in Calcutta find themselves as regards zoological literature, for I do not think that anything essential has been omitted.
It remains for me to express my gratitude to those who have assisted me in the preparation of this volume. The names of those who have contributed specimens for examination have already been mentioned. I have to thank the Trustees of the Indian Museum not only for their liberal interpretation of my duties as an officer of the Museum but also for the use of all the drawings and photographs and some of the blocks from which this volume is illustrated. Several of the latter have already been used in the "Records of the Indian Museum." From the Editor of the "Fauna" I have received valuable suggestions, and I am indebted to Dr. Weltner of the Berlin Museum for no less valuable references to literature. Mr. F. H. Gravely, Assistant Superintendent in the Indian Museum, has saved me from several errors by his criticism.
The majority of the figures have been drawn by the draftsmen of the Indian Museum, Babu Abhoya Charan Chowdhary, and of the Marine Survey of India, Babu Shib Chandra Mondul, to both of whom I am much indebted for their accuracy of delineation.
No work dealing with the sponges of India would be complete without a tribute to the memory of H. J. Carter, pioneer in the East of the study of lower invertebrates, whose work persists as a guide and an encouragement to all of us who are of the opinion that biological research on Indian animals can only be undertaken in India, and that even systematic zoological work can be carried out in that country with success. I can only hope that this, the first volume in the official Fauna of the Indian Empire to be written entirely in India, may prove not unworthy of his example.
Indian Museum, Calcutta Oct. 23rd, 1910.
[A] "L'origine des animaux d'eau douce," Bull. de l'Acad. roy. de Belgique (Classe des Sciences), No. 12, 1905, p. 724.