FORAMINIFERA OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 77 



It is very probable that the two species recorded from Dunkerque 

 by Terquem^* as Asterigerina geometrica (pi. 5, fig. 6a, b) and A. 

 dubia (pi. 5, figs. 7a, 6) do not belong to this genus, as well as the 

 fossil species A. hieroglyphica Terquem^' from the Pliocene of the 

 Isle of Rhodes; A. rhodiense Terquem^'', and A. (?) lancicula 

 Schwager^* from the Eocene of Egypt. The A. tarentina Costa^' 

 from the Pliocene of Italy is hardly recognizable from the figure 

 which like many of the figures of that work is fanciful and evidently 

 not accurate. 



The genus has been developing in the West Indian region and along 

 the adjacent coasts of the southeastern United States since Early 

 Tertiary times, and during this period several species were developed. 

 Of these, few show any amount of ornamentation except Asterigerina 

 tuberculata Cushman*" from the Miocene of Santo Domingo, which is 

 highly ornamented with knobs and bosses. 



ASTERIGERINA CARINATA d'Orbigny 



Plate 15, figures 4, 5 



Asterigerina carinata d'Orbigny, in De la Sagra, Hist. Fis. Pol. Nat. Cuba, 

 1839, "Foraminiferes," p. 118, pi. 5, fig. 25; pi. 6, figs. 1, 2.— Cushman, 

 Publ. 291, Carnegie Instit., Washington, 1919, p. 45; Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., vol. 59, 1921, p. 60, pi. 14, figs. 6-8; Publ. 311, Carnegie Instit., 

 Washington, 1922, p. 54, pi. 9, figs. 4-6; Special Publ. No. 1, Cushman 

 Lab. Foram. Res., 1928, pi. 42, fig. 1; pi. 44, fig. 4. 



Test unequally biconvex, coiled, the dorsal side very slightly convex, 

 the ventral side strongly so, almost conical; chambers numerous, 

 about 3 coils, 6 or 7 forming the last-formed coil; sutures oblique, 

 very slightly limbate, produced to form a slight translucent keel; 

 sutures curved and oblique on the dorsal side, on the ventral side the 

 supplementary chambers extending nearly to the periphery, forming 

 rhomboid areas; sutures distinct, very slightly depressed; wall smooth, 

 finely punctate and usually glistening, often somewhat roughened 

 by lines of small granules near the aperture, which is an elongate, 

 narrow slit, extending from the umbilical region about halfway to 

 the periphery, and usually with a slight, thin lip. 



Specimens do not usually exceed 0.75 mm. in diameter. 



The species was originally described by d'Orbigny from shore sands 

 of Cuba and Jamaica. It is widely distributed in the West Indian 

 region extending as far north as Cape Hatteras. At the Tortugas 

 this species occurred at all the stations from which material was 

 collected. It is common on the north coast of Jamaica. It occurs 

 in the Late Tertiary of the West Indian region. 



M Essai Anim. Plage Dunkerque, 1875. 



M M6m. Soc. Geol. France, sfr. 3, vol. 1, 1878, p. 30, pi. 3(8), figs. 5a-8. 



"Idem, p. 31, pi. 3(8), figs. la-4. 



" Palaeontographica, vol. 30. 1883, p. 127, pi. 28(5), fig. 8. 



«• Atti Accad. Pont., vol. 8, 1856, p. 272, pi. 22, figs. 13, U. 



« Publ. 291, Carnegie Instit., Washington, 1919, p. 46, pi. 13, figs. 3, 4. 



