11 
THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
forty Stations, and was of widely representative character, whether as to locality, depth 
of water, chemical composition, or physical aspect. Unfortunately but little attention was 
given to the collection of shore-sands, and the chief deficiency so far as the Foraminifera 
are concerned is in the species affecting the littoral zone. The dredgings, for the most 
part, were preserved in alcohol ; some few, however, were merely dried. 
The tow-net also was employed very constantly during the voyage, and the various 
gatherings of surface-organisms were in like manner preserved in alcohol. A large num- 
ber of mountings were made on shipboard from the richer hauls, and these have since 
formed the most valuable source of information respecting the pelagic Foraminifera. 
The “ Porcupine ” dredgings concerning which sufficiently accurate particulars could 
be obtained were referrible to about twenty-four Stations in the North Atlantic, and the 
material as it reached my hands consisted entirely of dried sands and muds. The 
Arctic soundings to which allusion has been made were in the same condition. The 
“ Knight Errant ” collections were brought home in alcohol. 
The observations made by the Challenger staff upon freshly collected surface-specimens 
of Globigerina, Orbulina, Hastigerina and Cymbalopora, together with the figures drawn 
from the living organisms, have been to some extent embodied in the descriptive portions of 
the Keport; but, except with respect to the pelagic species, there has been but little to record 
concerning the actual life-history of the group. The nature and condition of the preserved 
material have, for the most part, precluded any satisfactory investigation as to the 
anatomy and organization of the soft parts of the animal ; hence, so far as the study of 
individual specimens is concerned, the following pages are chiefly devoted to matters 
relating to the external skeleton or test, its minute structure and general morphology, 
and the zoological relations dependent thereupon. 
The examination of material collected under such diverse conditions has naturally 
resulted in the discovery of many species and even genera previously unknown ; and 
there is scarcely a Fa mil y of the Foraminifera that has not been materially enriched 
thereby. The most noteworthy additions both as to number and importance have been 
amongst the forms which build for themselves composite tests in place of the usual 
calcareous skeleton, — a group of Foraminifera concerning which our knowledge has been 
much extended of late years. Hitherto these “arenaceous” types have been variously 
treated by different systematists, having been recognised by some as constituting a distinct 
Sub-order, whilst by others they are not admitted to any collective position. Under these 
circumstances the subject of Classification has demanded fuller treatment than might 
otherwise have been needful, and a separate chapter has been devoted to its consideration. 
Much attention has been bestowed upon the distribution of the various genera and 
species, whether geographical, bathymetrical, or geological, and a complete or approximately 
complete list of the Foraminifera occurring in each batch of material has been pre- 
served. The number of Stations forbids any attempt to arrange the whole, or indeed 
