590 Proceedings of the Eoyal Irish Academy. 



inflated ; peripheral borders thin, rounded, angular, or produced suffi- 

 ciently to form radiating spurs. Surface covered -with adpressed spiny- 

 processes, obscuring the sutiu'es, except those of the later chambers. 

 Diameter aV inc-h (1'3 mm.) or more. The characters are, indeed, very 

 much those of Calcarina caJcar, excepting for the superficial spiny 

 armature. 



Quinquelocidina ornatissima (Kauer, Sitzungsb. K. Akad. Wiss. 

 "^"ien., 1868, vol. Iviii., p. 151, pi. 3, fig. 2) deserves a passing notice. 

 It is an interesting, highly ornate form Tvith transverse crenulations, 

 crossed by longitudinal strise, and though I had previously found it in 

 some Polynesian sands, it has not hitherto been recorded as a recent 

 species. Dr. Kauer's specimens were from the Miocene of the Banat, 

 in Austria. Only a single example ^vas found in this Loo Choo 

 gatheiing, and that is slightly broken. 



At the time I received the seaweed from Dr. "Wright, I was en- 

 deavouring to si;mmarize what was known of the parasitic types of 

 Foraminifera in connection with my work upon the Ehizopod-fauna 

 of the carboniferous rocks, and I had anived at the conclusion that 

 adherent growth, at one period of life or another, was a much more 

 common and more significant character in this group of organisms 

 than has hitherto been supposed. It was, therefore, of interest to 

 ascertain not only what species of Foraminifera were present, but how 

 many of them, if any, were really parasitic, and not simply entangled 

 in the meshes of the weed amongst which they had lived, or adherent 

 by the mucilaginous matter coating the surface. The piece of the 

 alga which had been sepai'ated, consisting chiefly of the root and the 

 commencement of the larger branches, was therefore put into warm 

 water and allowed to macerate for twenty-four hours, by which time 

 it had SAS'oUen to its original size. Repeated shai'p) agitation during 

 the maceration served to liberate most of the Foraminifera. It was 

 then cut into little pieces, and the filaments of a conferva with which 

 it had been associated in growth were carefully removed. The pieces 

 were put into a sieve and washed under a strong stream of warm 

 water from a tap, using eveiy means even to the extent of some vio- 

 lence to dislodge anything that had not some connexion with the 

 surface of the plant beyond mere chance adhesion. The specimens 

 that remained were comparatively few in number, and pertained to a 

 limited range of species, but for the most part they had e^^idently lived 

 in the parasitic condition in which they were found. They were 

 cliiefly the yoimg of Orhitolites cornpJanatus and CijmhaJopora Poc//?' with 

 small examples of PhnorhuJina Mediterranensis. The last-named needs 

 no comment, as it is an essentially parasitic species, but I am not 

 aware that cither Orhitolites or Cymlalopora has ever before been noticed 

 in this contlition. The little specimens of CymlaJopora might have 

 passed for the fry of one of the other rotalian genera but for the pre- 

 sence of larger specimens of the same species. 



