300 Transactions. — Zoology. 



Art. XXI. — Note on the Occurrence of the Foraminiferan 

 Genus Ramulina in the New Zealand Waters. 



By W. B. Benham, D.Sc, M.A., F.Z.S., &c, Professor of 



Biology, University of Otago. 

 [Read before the Otago Institute, 13</i September, 1904.] 

 During a dredging excursion in the summer of 1904, in which 

 Mr. Charles Hedley, of the Australian Museum, Messrs. Suter, 

 Cooper, Park, Murdoch, and others, took part, several interest- 

 ing animals were obtained at a depth of about 100 fathoms, 

 and amongst them the peculiar glassy foraminifer Ramulina 

 globulifera. This has been described from the New Zealand 

 waters by Brady, in the " Report of the ' Challenger ' Expedi- 

 tion " (vol. ix.), but as it has escaped the notice of Mr. Hamilton, 

 who drew up the admirable abstract from the " Summary," and 

 published by the New Zealand Institute under the title of 

 " Deep-sea Fauna of New Zealand," and as it is not enumerated 

 in the " Index Faunae Novse-Zealandiae," it seems desirable to 

 place on record its occurrences within the New Zealand area. 



The specimens which were handed to me by Mr. Hamilton 

 for identification were obtained at a depth of 110 fathoms, east 

 of Great Barrier Island, lat. 36° 8' S., long. 175° 55' E. 



The following is quoted from Brady (loc. cit., p. 587) : — 



" Fam. Lagenid^e. 

 " Subfam. Ramulina. 

 " Test branching, composed of spherical or pyriform cham- 

 bers, connected by long stoloniferous tubes. 



" Ramulina, Rupert Jones (1875). 



" Test free, branching ; consisting of a calcareous tube 

 swollen at intervals so as to form more or less definite, often 

 irregular, segments, from which lateral stolons or branches are 

 given off. Texture hyaline." 



R. globulifera, Brady (1869) was obtained by the "Challenger" 

 off the west coast of New Zealand in 145 and 275 fathoms (the 

 latter was at station 166). 



It has been met with on various stations in the Pacific, and 

 also in the North Atlantic. 



Figures of the species are given on pi. lxxvi, figs. 22-28, of 

 vol. ix., "Challenger" Reports. 



