Study of the sponge Euplectella aspergillum, known as Venus's flower-basket. The sponge became a novelty and a wedding gift in Victorian England since it was frequently home to a pairing of male and female shrimps. Plate from the monograph On Euplectella aspergillum. Also on a new form of globigerina; phosphorescent animalcules…, by William Chimmo (London, Taylor and Francis, 1878). The plate is not inscribed. William Chimmo (1828-1891) Royal Navy Captain and hydrographer dredged for these marine creatures off the Philippine Islands.
