foraminifer

American  

[fawr-uh-min-uh-fer, for-] / ˌfɔr əˈmɪn ə fər, ˌfɒr- /

noun

foraminifers, plural foraminifera plural

1. any chiefly marine protozoan of the sarcodinian order Foraminifera, typically having a linear, spiral, or concentric shell perforated by small holes or pores through which pseudopodia extend.

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foraminifer British  

/ ˌfɒrəˈmɪnɪfə, fɒˌræmɪˈnɪfərəl /

noun

1. Often shortened to: foram.  any marine protozoan of the phylum Foraminifera , having a shell with numerous openings through which cytoplasmic processes protrude See also globigerina nummulite

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• foraminiferous
  adjective
• foraminiferal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• foraminifera
  plural
• foraminifers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foraminifer

1835–45; < New Latin Foraminifera, equivalent to Latin forāmin-, stem of forāmen foramen + -ifera; see -i-, -fer

Example Sentences

Now, an international group of researchers have discovered a previously unknown species of large foraminifer, shedding new light on the ecological evolution and biodiversity of coral reefs in the Ryukyu Islands.

From Science Daily • Sep. 19, 2023

Beds of gneiss and quartzite, with interstratified limestones, in one of which, 1000 feet thick, occurs a foraminifer, Eozoon Canadense, the oldest known fossil.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir

In these rocks the nucleus of every minute spherule is seen, under the microscope, to consist of a small rhizopod or foraminifer.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir

Eozo�on, a supposed gigantic fossil foraminifer found in the limestone of the pre-Cambrian rocks of Canada, whence the name Eozo�n canadense.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various

The Laurentian rocks have yielded only one fossil—a large foraminifer named Eozoon Canadense.

From Geology by Geikie, James