Abstract
To British marine zoologists, more particularly those dealing with the North Sea area, Hans HÖgland's work on the foraminifera in the Gullmar Fjord and the Skagerak (Zool. Bidragf. Uppsala, 26 ; 1947) should prove very useful. While it includes only thirteen families of the Foraminifera it has reached formidable size, for in it are discussed in detail 133 species and varieties, and the remaining families are likely to contain nearly as many forms. It is fortunate that the author has had access to Goës' material, for it formed the basis of our knowledge of the Foraminifera in this area. Since the publication of Geës' work more than fifty years ago, a great deal has been done on this group with much alteration of classification and taxonomy. In classification, HÖgland has adopted a somewhat conservative attitude and has based his upon that of Cushman (1933), but he has been more drastic in the matter of nomenclature. Where the data appeared adequate the work has been carried out quantitatively, and here striking differences resulting from various collecting techniques are manifest. As an example, we have one form, Bulimina fusiformis, where the core sampler gave a total of 5,500 specimens and the corresponding sledge-net sample gave only thirty. It is interesting to note that the author was attracted to the study of this group from the ecological point of view, but soon realized that ecology must be based upon sound identification and taxonomy : hence the 32 splendid plates and the 303 figures which illustrate the range of variation within what the author regards as valid species.
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Foraminifera. Nature 161, 513 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161513a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161513a0