66 



BULLETIN 104, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Heron-Allen and Earland in their Clare Island report give the 

 following: 



A few small and somewhat obscure specimens from station 27 [18 fathoms]. 

 The occurrence of this species in such shallow water is very noticeable. The Chal- 

 lenger records, which, with one exception, were from the northwest of Ireland, range 

 between 630 and 1,443 fathoms. The species is extremely abundant attached to 

 stones and other foraminifera at many of the Goldseeher stations in the Shetland-Faroe 

 Channel, often at depths considerably less than the Porcupine and Challenger 

 records. 



The foregoing is interesting in comparison with conditions on the 

 western Atlantic coast. In ordinary dredgings, especially the fine 

 sifted material, the species is not met with. However, in going over 

 the rock material in the United States National Museum it became 

 apparent that this is one of our most abundant species at least on our 

 New England coast and on the various banks. The smaller glacial 

 pebbles are often literally covered with masses of the tests of T. 

 vesicularis and on the dark-colored rocks they stand out in beautiful 

 contrast. In the Speedwell, Fish Hawk, and Albatross rock mate- 

 rial the species was found as far south as off Cape Hatteras, depths 

 ranging down to 1,309 fathoms, and northward as far as the material 

 is represented to the north of Ne\vfoundland. 



In the northern waters it is very common at shallow depths. In 

 my own dredgings I have found it very abundant in Casco Bay and 

 Penobscot Bay on the coast of Maine in a few fathoms of water or, 

 in fact, in a few feet below low tide wherever the rocks are not cov- 

 ered either with barnacles or with rock weed. 



In spite of its apparent rarity elsewhere except in the colder waters 

 about the British Isles, this is probably a very abundant species 'in 

 cold water. Awerinzew's records in the Arctic tend to show that 

 it is widely distributed and its apparent absence may be due to the 

 fact that many students of the foraminifera have not had the oppor- 

 tunity to examine the coarser material from cold water. 



Tholosina vesicularis — material examined. 



