STUDIES IN FORAMINIFERA 



143 



The generic name comes from racemus, Latin, bunch 

 or cluster of grapes +Gfue7n6e/ma, genus of Foramini- 

 fera; gender, feminine. The name refers to the later 

 chamber proliferation as in a bunch of grapes, following 

 an early development like Chiembelina {=Heterohelix). 



Genus Tubitextularia Sulc, 1929 



Plate 33, Figures 1-5 



Tubitextularia Sulc, Vestnik Stkt. Geol. Ceskosl. Rep., vol. 5* 



p. 148, 1929. 

 Rectogumhelina Cushman, Contr. Cushman Lab. Foram. Res., 



vol. 8, p. 6, 1932. 



Type species: Pseudotextularia bohemica Sulc, 1929, 

 Upper Cretaceous Senonian, of Vinice, Czechoslovakia. 



Diagnosis: Test with initial stage coiled or more 

 commonly biserial, consisting of two to eight chambers 

 followed by an uniserial stage of two to five chambers. 

 Chambers inflated. Wall calcareous, perforate, 

 smooth. Aperture simple, terminal. 



Discussion: The genus Rectoguembelina Cushman 

 has identical characters and is a synonym of Tubitextu- 

 laria as was correctly stated by Glaessner (1936, p. 108). 

 The only differing character cited by Cushman is the 

 presence of a neck in Rectoguembelina. However, even 

 the figure given by Cushman (after Sulc) shows the 

 last chamber in Tubitextularia, as in Rectoguembelina, 

 becoming elongate and rather constricted in a sort of 

 large neck, which is broken. Consequently only a 

 specific separation can be admitted. This genus can 

 be considered as an example of genetic reduction in the 

 number of chambers, which has a parallel in other 

 families. The modification of the apertural position 

 from basal to terminal is an obvious consequence of the 

 change in chamber arrangement. Other than position, 

 the character of the aperture is identical to that of 

 other Heterohelicidae, i. e., simple, without lip, tooth, 

 or internal laminae. That it is clearly derived from a 

 heterohelicoid form is shown by the occasional remnant 

 of the primitive basal aperture at the end of the young 

 biserial stage. 



In addition to the type species, only Tubitextularia 

 cretacea (Cushman) and T. texana (Cushman) definitely 

 belong to this genus, as shown by the clearly hetero- 

 helicoid young stage. A much accelerated specimen 

 identified by Cushman as T. texana, has only a coiled 

 first stage followed, without a biserial stage, by a uni- 

 serial stage of four chambers. Another specimen has 

 only three initial chambers which are doubtfully bi- 

 serial with an oblique axis before the uniserial stage. 

 In this latter example, the heterohelicoid stage has 

 practically disappeared but there are all gradations 

 from the genus Heterohelix (H. globulosa) to Tubitextu- 

 laria, which can thus be interpreted as an aberrant 

 development of Heterohelix, but not as a stratigraphical 

 evolution from it. 



Family Plectofrondiculariidae Cushman, 1927 



Subfamily Plectofrondiculariinae Cushman, 1927 



Genus Bolivinella Cushman, 1927 



Plate 33, Figures 12-13 



Bolivinella Cushman, Contr. Cushman Lab. Foram. Res., vol. 2, 

 p. 79, 1927. 



Type species : Textularia agglutinans d'Orbigny var. 

 folium Parker and Jones, 1865, from Recent shore sand, 

 near Melbourne, Australia. 



Diagnosis: Test biserial, compressed, flabeUiform. 

 Proloculum spherical in megalospheric specimens, 

 elongate or ovoidal, provided with one or two spines. 

 No coiling present. Chambers depressed, slightly 

 overlapping, narrow and much elongate laterally, 

 generally sigmoid. Sutures well developed, limbate, 

 more or less projecting. Wall calcareous, perforate. 

 There is no simple basal aperture, but a series of tiny 

 openings at the base of the final chamber, surrounded by 

 numerous papillae commonly aligned in series radiating 

 from the apertural area. 



Discussion: The genus is placed by Galloway and 

 Cushman near Bolivinitella, in the Bolivinitinae. Sigal 

 maintains its placement in the Heterohelicidae (super 

 family Buliminidea). Pokorny puts Bolivinella in the 

 same superfanuly, but in the subfamily Plectofrondicu- 

 lariinae. 



Galloway (1933, p. 350) referred to the early stage as 

 "in the microspheric forms doubtfully planispiral" and 

 Cushman (1927b, p. 79) described the aperture as 

 "transverse to the compression of the test, with nu- 

 merous papillae at the base of the opening". 



Sigal (1952, p. 224) considers Bolivinella closely 

 related to Bolivinita and Bolivinitella, as all the three 

 genera "sautent le stade planispirale." The present 

 research, made at high magnification on several hundred 

 specimens and sections now gives a more complete 

 documentation of the morphological characters. As 

 stated by Sigal, a coiled initial stage is definitely ex- 

 cluded, as none was shown in the specimens examined. 

 The proloculum is spherical, ovoidal, or reniform; 

 provided with one or two spines, and partially broken 

 spines give the appearance of the "rectangular" 

 prolocvdum described by Cushman. Partial dissolution 

 by hydrochloric acid shows the two symmetrical 

 chambers following the proloculum. 



New information is available concerning the aperture. 

 The original figures of the type species show a gen- 

 eralized simple aperture, as Cushman (1927b, p. 79) 

 described vaguely. The diagnosis of the numerous 

 species of Cushman give no description or figure of the 

 aperture. The apertiu-e consists of a row of small 

 openings at the central part of the base of the final 

 chamber. Investigation of the apertural area has been 



