NO. 5 FORAMINIFERAL GENERA — LOEBLICH AND TAPPAN 3 



In addition to these institutions and individuals that were of great 

 assistance in the study of the Recent genera here included, we are 

 also equally indebted to many of the other geologists, paleontologists, 

 and zoologists of western Europe for their assistance in the study of 

 fossil forms. We will more completely acknowledge their aid in 

 forthcoming revisions of these fossil genera. 



These generic studies cannot be made solely in museums, and it has 

 often been necessary to obtain topotype material to understand better 

 the genera. Therefore, in addition to our museum studies, we also 

 collected large quantities of topotype foraminiferal material in western 

 Europe, with the aid of the local specialists while in the field. We 

 visited many university, museum, and petroleum company laboratories 

 in order to observe the various methods of preparing samples, labeling 

 slides, and storing collections, and received many valuable suggestions 

 as to these techniques. 



We are extremely grateful for the cooperation of the micropaleon- 

 tologists throughout the world in our restudy of the genera. Many 

 have cooperated by exchanges of material and literature, by showing 

 us the localities in the field, and by demonstrating varied techniques 

 in the laboratory. 



DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN FORAMINIFERAL 

 SYSTEMATICS 



We have been profoundly disturbed in our generic studies by certain 

 factors which we have observed that seem to have added to confusion 

 rather than to the clarification of taxonomic problems. Modern au- 

 thors have sometimes been as lax with taxonomic matters as the worst 

 of the early systematists. We are therefore giving here our observa- 

 tions on faults that future workers on Foraminifera would do well to 

 avoid. 



Lack of preparation of material. — It is obviously a time-consuming 

 procedure to wash samples. Nevertheless, when material is found that 

 is sufficiently interesting to warrant description, it is extremely impor- 

 tant that the material be completely prepared and as clean as possible. 

 The procedure used by us on all samples is first to wash by means of 

 an extremely fine screen and spray or use the triple decanting method, 

 sometimes with hydrogen peroxide or other aids as well, and then 

 always to boil the samples for a length of time varying from a few 

 hours to as long as a week if necessary. 



It is also important to wash Recent samples thoroughly, although 

 this has often been more or less neglected in the past. Merely because 



