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VII. — The Foraminifera of the Bed Chalk. 

 By H. W. Burrows, C. Davies Sherborn, and Kev. G. Bailey. 



(Read 9th May, 1888.) 



In 1859 the Eev. Prof. Wiltshire in a paper " On the Bed Chalk 

 of England,"* read before the Geologists' Association, quoted and 

 figured (pi. ii. fig. 8) one species of Forarninifer {Gristellaria rotulata 

 d'Orb.) as occuring in the red chalk of Speeton. In the following 

 year Major-General Enmiett in " Notes on the Red and White Chalk 

 of Yorkshire," j gave, on the authority of Messrs. W. K. Parker and 

 T. K. Jones, the following species : — Globigerina bulloides, Textularia 

 ynjgnioea, Botalia ammonoides, Dentalina communis, Gristellaria 

 rotulata. 



Professor Blake,t speaking of the chalk of Yorkshire, mentions the 

 occurrence of minute hollow spheres, but says that he has " not been 

 able definitely to find any apertures in them, otherwise they look like 

 the Orbulina universa, abounding to the extinction of all other 

 Foraminifera." Parker and Jones in Emmett's note above mentioned 

 had noticed this also in the red chalk, and suggested the minute 

 chambers were " separate cells of Globigerina and Dentalina, the former 

 predominating." 



The Mem. Geol. Survey published in 1880 on " The Geology of 

 Scarborough " mentioned Gristellaria rotulata Lam. as occurring in 

 the red chalk of Speeton. 



Mr. Whitaker in the list of fossils of the red chalk, § quoted two 

 species from the Hunstanton red chalk, Gristellaria rotulata Lam., 

 and Globigerina cretacea d'Orb. 



Thus up to date only six species of Foraminifera have been noted 

 from the red chalk of England. 



For some years we have been working independently on this 

 subject, and the combined result shows an important addition to the 

 previously recorded species. These will form the subject of a joint 

 paper to be issued shortly, and for which the drawings are already 

 prepared. 



The following is a provisional list of the forms in our collections 

 already determined, a number of somewhat obscure specimens re- 

 maining to be finally examined. 



Spiroloculina, 2 spp. 



Miliolina spp. 



Trochammina cretacea ? Eeuss. 



„ gordialis P. & J. 



„ incerta d'Orb. 



* 8vo, London, 1859. t Geologist, 1860, pp. 419-20. 



X Proc. Geol. Assoc, v. (1877) p. 266. 



§ Proc. Norwich Geol. Soc, i. pt. vii. (1883). 



