Foraminifera are single-celled eukaryotic organisms that live in both the marine and fresh water environment. They range in size from 100 μm–15 cm in length. Foraminifera (often referred to as forams) are classified primarily by the composition and morphology of their tests (shells). Tests can be made of organic compounds, sand grains, and other particles cemented together (agglutinated), or secreted calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Many groups are commonly made of a number of chambers, added during growth (Figure F2). The arrangement of these chambers and the position and shape of apertures are important for taxonomic classification.
SEM image of the planktonic foraminifers Globigerina bulloides d’Orbigny (left) and Dentoglobigerina altispira Cushman and Jarvis (right) showing apertures (a) and chambers (b).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V., and Van Couvering, J.A., 1985. Neogene geochronology and chronostratigraphy. In Snelling, N.J. (ed.), The Chronology of the Geological Record. London: Geological Society of London, Memoir 10, pp.211–260.
Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V., Swisher, C.C., and Aubry, M.-P., 1995. A revised Cenozoic geochronology and chronostratigraphy. In Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V., Aubry, M.-P., and Hardenbol, J. (eds.), Geochronology, Time Scales and Global Stratigraphic Correlation. Tulsa: Society for Sedimentary Geology, Special Publication 54, pp.129–212.
Brady, H.B., 1884. Report on the foraminifera dredged by H.M.S. Challenger, during the years 1873–1876. Report of the scientific results of the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger, 1873–1876, Zoology, 9, 1–814.
CLIMAP, 1981. Seasonal reconstruction of the Earth’s surface at the last glacial maximum. Geological Society of America Map and Chart Series MC-36, 1–18.
Dowsett, H.J., 1989. Application of the graphic correlation method to Pliocene marine sequences. Mar. Micropaleontol., 35, 279–292.
Dowsett, H.J., Barron, J.A., Poore, R.Z., Thompson, R.S., Cronin, T.M., Ishman, S.E., and Willard, D.A., 1999. Middle Pliocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction: PRISM2. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 99–535.
Ericson, D.B., and Wollin, G., 1956. Correlation of six cores from the equatorial Atlantic and the Caribbean. Deep Sea Res., 3, 104–125.
Haynes, J.R. 1981. Foraminifera. New York: Wiley, 433pp.
Imbrie, J., and Kipp, N.G., 1971. A new micropaleontological method for quantitative paleoclimatology: Applications to a late Pleistocene Caribbean core. In Turekian, K.K. (ed.), The Late Cenozoic Glacial Ages. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, pp.71–181.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag
About this entry
Cite this entry
Dowsett, H.J. (2009). Foraminifera. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_88
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_88
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4551-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4411-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences