lOO iSTEW YORK StAT£ MUSEUM 



Genus VERNEUILINA d'Orbigny 



Verneuilina is a triserial foraminiferan with textularian aperture. 

 It is often triangular in outline with edges sharp, but its test is coarsely 

 constructed in recent forms as in the larger arenaceous genera. There 

 are comparatively few segments, arched above and resembling 

 Textularia in the arrangement of each. This genus has been reported 

 (Ehrenberg) from the Lower Cambrian of Russia; but it is best known 

 as a Cretaceous and Tertiary fossil, and a small number of forms exist 

 today. We are not positive that this genus is present in the Bona- 

 venture chert, but either the transverse sections assigned to this 

 genus are Verneuilina or they belong to Bulimina, which would show 

 a similar outline. The size of the silicified test would not be sufficient 

 to separate the two, but we are inclined to consider only the larger 

 forms as probable representatives of Verneuilina. Fossilization 

 such as these forms suffered would perhaps replace finely arenaceous 

 material with colloidal homogeneous silica such as that which both 

 these types now possess. It is even possible, though not probable, 

 that the forms we have placed under Bulimina were of this genus; 

 but unless some means can be discovered to determine the position 

 and shape of the aperture, such problematical relations can not be 

 determined. Cross and transverse sections would not indicate the 

 aperture, and in no case do we find the necessary evidence to make 

 certain our identification. We are therefore provisionally ' placing 

 all such forms under one species, Verneuilina pygmaea 

 (Egger). 



Verneuilina pygmaea (Egger) 



Plate 2, figures la, b; 2a, b 



Bulimina pygmaea Egger, 1857, Neues Jahrb. fur Miner, p. 284, 



pi. xii, figs. 10, II 

 Verneuilina pygmaea Brady, 1884, Chal. Rept., 9: 385, pi. xlvii, 



figs. 4-7 



The close relationship between the two forms Bulimina and Ver- 

 neuilina is suggested by the fact that this type was originally wrongly 

 placed under the former genus. The species designated pygmaea 

 is short, stoutly built and with few chambers. These are globose and 

 projecting and widely expanding above. Cross sections would 

 therefore closely resemble Bulimina pupoides which we 

 believe occurs in the chert. We are assigning to the genus Verneui- 

 lina a few doubtful rather large forms whose transverse sections may 

 perhaps belong to this genus. It seems to the writer all the more 

 probable since Verneuilina is known from the Cambrian while Buli- 



