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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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of foraminifer

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

Sir William Dawson’s name is especially associated with the Eozoon canadense, which in 1864 he described as an organism having the structure of a foraminifer.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 10 "David, St" to "Demidov" by Various

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

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

From Geology by Geikie, James

The method examines the chemistry of ancient foraminifera, microscopic marine organisms whose remains are preserved in seafloor sediments.

From Science Daily Jul. 16, 2026

Planktonic foraminifera live in the upper layers of the ocean, in contrast to those found on the bottom.

From Science Daily Feb. 15, 2024

Previous studies have shown that larger multicellular organisms, such as worms, increase the oxygen penetration in the sediment by creating burrows, but this has never been shown for single-cell organisms such as foraminifera.

From Science Daily Dec. 11, 2023

"Are foraminifera interacting with these worm-created burrows? Could their presence potentially amplify the effects of these burrows?" he asks.

From Science Daily Dec. 11, 2023

The abundance of corals in some of the Carboniferous seas and possibly also the large size of some of the Productids and foraminifera may be taken as evidence of warm or temperate waters.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 "Capefigue" to "Carneades" by Various

The study focuses on three major groups of calcifying plankton: coccolithophores, foraminifers, and pteropods.

From Science Daily Feb. 8, 2026

Among living foraminifers, Lagena, Globigerina, and Nodosaria are known in the later Cambrian or early Ordovician.

From Climatic Changes Their Nature and Causes by Huntington, Ellsworth

At one moment he has to deal with the bones of some large mammal scattered through a deposit of superficial gravel, at another time with the minute foraminifers and ostracods of an upraised sea-bottom.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various

Beneath the reef are thick beds of limestone, composed largely of the remains of foraminifers, which cover the lavas and fragraental materials of the old submarine volcano.

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon

Certain small foraminifers, for example, met with in some of the oldest formations, do not seem to differ from species which are still living.

From Geology by Geikie, James

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