Blind River Dolphin: First Side-Swimming Cetacean

The blind river dolphin (Platanista gangetica), first written about by Pliny the Elder in A.D. 72, was found (10 November 1968) to be the first known side-swimming cetacean. The rudimentary eye lacks the lens, but anatomical evidence suggests that the eye may serve as a light sensor. The underwater sound emissions of this species, although similar to those of the Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), appear to be produced constantly.

A Memorial for William V. Sliter

William V. (Bill) Sliter, an internationally known micropaleontologist and research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, passed away suddenly, October, 1997, while talking to a colleague in his office. In his honor, B. Huber, T. Bralower, and M. Leckie organized a keynote symposium ‘‘Paleoecological and Geochemical Signatures of Cretaceous Anoxic Events’’ at the 1998 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Toronto, Canada. This theme issue of the Journal of Foraminiferal Research contains the published papers from the symposium and is dedicated to his memory.