Synojysis of the British Recent Foraminifera. By H. B. Brady. 873 



flora ? This subject was raised in the Biolological Section of the British 

 Association at the Birmingham meeting in 1886, and a Committee was 

 appointed to consider it and report. The report, laid before the Man- 

 chester meeting (1887), which may be summarized as follows, will 

 probably find general acceptance. It proposes to recognize a " British 

 Marine Shallow-water District," and a " British Atlantic Slope District ; " 

 the former bounded to east and south by the half-way line between 

 Great Britain and the continent of Europe, and to the west and north 

 by the 100 fathom line, which corresponds roughly with the beginning 

 of the declivity of the continental plateau ; the latter, that is the " British 

 Atlantic Slope District," extending from the 100 fathom line on the north 

 and west coasts to say 1000 fathoms, that is to the commencement of the 

 abyssal floor of the ocean. 



These definitions are doubtless intended for general guidance rather 

 than as the embodiment of fixed and absolute rules ; and in the following 

 Synopsis, which is otherwise limited to the " Shallow-water District," 

 1 have not felt at liberty to exclude the results of some of the recent 

 dredgings on the south-west of Ireland at depths a little exceeding 

 lUO fathoms; still less those of soundings from even deeper water in 

 localities like Loch Fyne, which are geographically within the normal 

 100 fathom line. 



The arrangement and nomenclature of the Synopsis are based upon 

 the ' Pieport on the Foraminifera of the Challenger Expedition.' Piefer- 

 ence is given to the original description of each species and, as far as 

 possible, a further reference to the first record of its occurrence in a 

 British locality, not, however, in the latter case going back further than 

 Williamson's monograph. For synonyms, which have only been given 

 in a few needful cases, the reader may be referred to the ' Challenger ' 

 Report. 



I have had the advantage of the assistance of my friend Mr. "W. 

 Archer, F.E.S., of Dublin, with respect to the Gromidae. The treat- 

 ment of the Family, however, must be regarded as purely provisional. 

 Those genera only have been included thot are known to possess 

 " reticulated " (as distinct from " lobose " or " filose ") pseudopodia. 



There are a certain number of species that, at one time or other, have 

 found place in works on the British recent fauna, which are omitted in 

 the present Synopsis. Of these the most important are Peneroplis 

 planatus and Vertehralina striata, the specimens of which are now 

 known to have been interlopers, due to the use of sieves previously em- 

 ployed for Mediterranean sands, and not properly cleaned ; Cristellaria 

 strigilata (C. suhareuatula, var. eostata, Will.), Frondicularia eomjplanata 

 {F. spathulata, Will.), Frondicularia archiaciana, and Nummtdites 

 radiata (N. plamdata, Will.), which are without doubt " derived " fossils 

 from early Tertiary and Cretaceous strata. Possibly the broken speci- 

 men figured by Williamson (Plate ii., fig. 44), referred with reservation 

 by some subsequent authors to Nodosaria raphanistrum, also pertains to 

 tlie same category. 



With respect to Nummulites radiata, I may say that the late 

 Mr. Jefireys was kind enough to give me a considerable number of the 

 specimens dredged ofi" Portsmouth, and their fossil condition appears to 



