Foraminifera

The images could look like this:

Bild
Bild
Bild
Bild
Bild
Bild
Bild
Bild

Characteristics: Foram spiky
Shape: Round to unregular
Spines: Many, unregularly arranged spines
Nucleus: Unregular composition of small, round structures
Cell margin: Mostly badly visible
Don't confuse with: Phaeodaria leg or Acantharia

Back to the categories

Group information

Foraminifera compose a distinct, large taxonomic group within the rhizaria. Most foraminifera live on or within the seabed, but some species are also planktonic and drift in the watercolumn. Many foraminifera build multi-chambered, calcareous housings that can be several millimeters big (or small). These housings - also called tests - are an important part of chalk and can be found in ancient sea floor sediments. Geologists use them to date these sediments and to reconstruct the climate history of the earth.