Crossword clues for foraminifera
foraminifera
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Foraminifera \Fo*ram`i*nif"e*ra\, n. pl. [NL., fr. L. foramen, -aminis, a foramen + ferre to bear.] (Zo["o]l.) An extensive order of rhizopods which generally have a chambered calcareous shell formed by several united zooids. Many of them have perforated walls, whence the name. Some species are covered with sand. See Rhizophoda.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. A large group of amoeboid protists, of the order ''Foraminifera'', that are mostly marine.
Wikipedia
Foraminifera (, Latin meaning hole bearers, informally called "forams") are members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm that among other things is used for catching food, and commonly by an external shell or " test" made of various materials and constructed in diverse forms. All but perhaps a very few are aquatic and most are marine, the majority of which live on or within the seafloor sediment (i.e., are benthic) while a smaller variety are floaters in the water column at various depths (i.e., are planktonic). A few are known from freshwater or brackish conditions and some soil species have been identified through molecular analysis of small subunit ribosomal DNA.
Foraminifera typically produce a test, or shell, which can have either one or multiple chambers, some becoming quite elaborate in structure. These shells are commonly made of calcium carbonate or agglutinated sediment particles. Over 50,000 species are recognized, both living (10,000) and fossil (40,000). They are usually less than 1 mm in size, but some are much larger, the largest species reaching up to 20 cm.
The word foraminifera is the Latin plural of the singular noun foraminafer, which is also used in English to refer to single individuals of the class Foraminifera. Alternatively, the English adjective "foraminiferan" can be used as a noun to refer to such individuals.
Usage examples of "foraminifera".
The lack of foraminifera fossils and the crystallization patterns seem to confirm this.
Different types live at different depths, which means that cataloging the foraminifera in a sediment tells you the depth of the water in which it was formed.
In periods of warm weather the foraminifera flourish and in colder weather they are scarcer.
A study of the layers of sediment shows the rise and fall of temperature in past periods, judged by the fluctuation in the amount of foraminifera shells present.
The earth rolls and the sun appears to mount, mountains erode, fruits decay, the Foraminifera adds another chamber to its shell, babies' fingernails grow as does the hair of the dead in their graves, and in egg timers the sands fall and the eggs cook on.
The Infusoria, Foraminifera, and Sponges, with some other forms, belong to this division.