358 FORAMINIFERA 



some of the early stages skipped in the preceding are now pres- 

 ent. With the microspheric proloculum, the greatest number of 

 early stages are present. 



The problem involved would not be so perplexing nor so 

 troublesome did it not involve our nomenclature. In the figure 

 Hre shown three forms from the Miocene of the Vienna Basin. 

 The first of these was named by d'Orbigny "Nodosaria aculeata". 

 It has a very large proloculum, even larger than the succeeding 

 chamber. There are but four chambers in the test arranged in 

 a straight line and would be called Nodosaria with little ques- 

 tion. The second was named "Dentalina floscula" by d'Orbigny. 

 It has a smaller megalospheric proloculum, six chambers in 

 gradually increasing size and the axis of the test is curved. The 

 third was named "Marginulina hirsuta" by d'Orbigny. It has a 

 microspheric proloculum, nine chambers or more, the early ones 

 somewhat compressed, but the final ones exactly like those in the 

 other two forms. The ornamentation in the adult of all three is 

 the same. All three forms occur together, and it is evident from 

 a study of a suite of specimens from the type locality that all 

 three forms belong to a single species. The microspheric form 

 is the only one that has the full characters. The three forms 

 may be graphically represented using P for the proloculum, 

 M for the Marginulina stage, D for the Dentalina stage, and 

 N for the Nodosaria stage as follows : 



P+M+D+N for the microspheric form. 



P-f D+N for that with a smaller megalospheric form. 



P-(-N for that with a larger megalospheric form. 



It becomes difficult to name such forms. There are three gen- 

 eric names involved as well as three specific ones. The specific 

 names can be disposed of on the basis of the usual application 

 of the Rules of Nomenclature the first described, one holding its 

 specific name and dropping the other two. With the generic 

 names the difficulty is increased. As the microspheric form is 

 the only one that shows the full characters, it would seem best 

 to call all the specimens Marginulina aculeata (d'Orbigny), and 

 consider the two megalospheric forms and others of the same 

 sort as specimens with incomplete stages. It is obvious that 

 this could be done only with the knowledge of all the forms of 

 the species. 



