12 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I49 



Ammo sc alar ia cf. fluvialis, Trochammina inflata, T. lobata, and 

 Nonionella atlantica are represented only by empty tests. No plank- 

 tonic Foraminif era were found. 



Parker (1952b) recorded 36 species from L.I.S. Of these only 19 

 were found in the present study. The species Eggerella advena, 

 Elphidium incertum (E. clavatum of this study), E. subarticum (E. 

 pauciloculum of this study), Eponides frigidus var. calidus (Buc- 

 cella frigida of this study), N onion tisburyensis (Elphidium tisbury- 

 ense of this study), Reophax dentaliniformis, and Trochammina 

 squamata were listed as persistent in occurrence by Parker. All these 

 species were commonly found in the present investigation. 



In the present study the species Elphidium clavatum, E. paucilo- 

 culum, E. varium, Buccella frigida, and Eggerella advena usually 

 make up about 90 percent of the total as well as of the living popula- 

 tion. Of these, however, E. clavatum, B. frigida, and E. advena are 

 most abundant and commonly comprise over 75 percent. Parker 

 (1952b) indicated the most abundant species in her facies 2 (L.I.S., 

 Buzzards Bay, Gardiners Bay) were E. advena, E. incertum, E. 

 subarticum, and E. frigidus var. calidus. There is, then, with the 

 exception of E. varium, complete agreement. E. varium was prob- 

 ably included under E. incertum and E. subarticum by Parker 

 because this species closely resembles these forms. 



The duplicate study of this area is instructive in that it shows that 

 caution must be used when considering the significance of the number 

 of species in a given area. On the other hand the more abundant 

 species are, as one would hope, abundant in both cases. The number 

 of genera also seems to be less variable. Parker found 19, whereas 

 1 5 were found by the writer. 



Parker (1952b) was able to differentiate between the fauna of 

 L.I.S. and Block Island Sound. She found that some species such 

 as Reophax dentaliniformis and R. nana are restricted to L.I.S. 

 In addition she found that the fauna in L.I.S. contained a very large 

 percentage of Elphidium incertum. Parker (1952b, p. 438) indicated 

 that in the central part of L.I.S. there is a decrease in the percent 

 of this species. Therefore, with the exception of E. varium, there 

 is complete agreement between the faunal composition noted by 

 Parker and that noted during my investigation. 



Using Parker's data, the average number of species per station in 

 L.I.S. is 8 (7 were found in the present study), whereas in Block 

 Island Sound it is 14. The waters of Block Island Sound are more 

 oceanic in character, having a higher salinity and less variation in 



