In dealing with these marine forms from the systematic standpoint, two courses are open to the investigator.  He may make numerous new species based upon minor differences in structure, or he may extend previous descriptions until they are elastic enough to cover the variations.  The great majority of marine protozoa have been described from European waters, and the descriptions are usually not elastic enough to embrace the forms found at Woods Hole.  I have chosen, however, to hold to the conservative plan of systematic work, and to make as few new species as possible, extending the older descriptions to include the new forms.

The different classes of Protozoa, and orders within the classes, are distributed more or less in zones.  Thus the Infusoria, including the Ciliata and the Suctoria, are usually littoral in their habitat, living upon the shore-dwelling, or attached, water plants and upon the animals frequenting them.  It is to be expected, therefore, that in forms here considered there should be a preponderance of Infusoria.  Flagellated forms are also found in similar localities, but on the Surface of the sea as well; hence the number described in these pages is probably only a small proportion of the total number of Mastigophora in this region.  The Sarcodina, including the Foraminifera and the Radiolaria, are typically deep-sea forms and would not be represented by many types in the restricted locality examined at Woods Hole.  Two species, Gromia lagenoides and Truncatulina lobatula, alone represent the great order of Foraminifera, while the still larger group of Radiolaria is not represented at all.

The Protozoa described are distributed among the different orders as follows:*

Class Sarcodina. 
   Subclass RHIZOPODA. 
      Order AMOEBIDA.
            1. Amoeba guttula Duj
            2. Amoeba sp.
            3. Trichosphaerium sieboldi Schn. 
      Order RETICULARIIDA. 
         Suborder IMPERFORINA.
            4. Gromia lagenoides Gruber. 
         Suborder PERFORINA.
            5. Truncatulina lobatula Walker & Jacob. 
   Subclass HELIOZOA. 
      Order APHROTHORACIDA.
            6. Actinophrys sol Ehr. 
      Order CHLAMYDOPHORIDA.
            7. Heterophrys myriapoda Archer. 
Class MASTIGOPHORA. 
   Subclass FLAGELLIDIA. 
      Order MONADIDA.
            8. Mastigamoeba simplex, n. sp.
            9. Codonoeca gracilis, n. sp.
           10. Monas sp. 
      Order CHOANOFLAGELLIDA.
           11. Monosiga ovata S. Kent.
           12. Monosiga fusiformis S. Kent.
           13. Codonosiga botrytis (Ehr.) J. Cl. 
      Order HETEROMASTIGIDA.
           14. Bodo globosus Stein.
           15. Bodo caudatus (Duj.) Stein.
           16. Oxyrrhis marina Duj.