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foraminiferan

American

[fuh-ram-uh-nif-er-uhn] / fəˌræm əˈnɪf ər ən /

noun

foraminifer.

adjective

of or related to foraminifer.

foraminiferan Scientific

/ fə-răm′ə-nĭf′ər-ən /

Any of various chiefly marine protozoans of the order Foraminiferida or Foraminifera, having a body enclosed by a shell called a test and making up an important constituent of plankton. Perforations in a foraminiferan's test allow the protrusion of numerous long extensions (pseudopods), which form a net used to trap food. The tests of foraminiferans grow throughout the organism's life, and can exceed 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter. The tests of dead organisms form ooze found on the ocean floor. Extinct foraminiferans are important index fossils.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

foraminiferans

plural

Example Sentences

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Somewhere inside those unstable, irregular piles of sand, a giant, filamentous protist called a foraminiferan lives.

From Scientific American • Apr. 15, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023