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Foraminifer
Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly an external shell (called a " test") of diverse forms and materials. Tests of chitin (found in some simple genera, and Textularia in particular) are believed to be the most primitive type. Most foraminifera are marine, the majority of which live on or within the seafloor sediment (i.e., are benthic), while a smaller number float in the water column at various depths (i.e., are planktonic), which belong to the suborder Globigerinina. Fewer are known from freshwater or brackish conditions, and some very few (nonaquatic) 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seafloor Sediment
Marine sediment, or ocean sediment, or seafloor sediment, are deposits of insoluble particles that have accumulated on the seafloor. These particles have their origins in soil and rocks and have been transported from the land to the sea, mainly by rivers but also by dust carried by wind and by the flow of glaciers into the sea. Additional deposits come from marine organisms and chemical precipitation in seawater, as well as from underwater volcanoes and meteorite debris. Except within a few kilometres of a mid-ocean ridge, where the volcanic rock is still relatively young, most parts of the seafloor are covered in sediment. This material comes from several different sources and is highly variable in composition. Seafloor sediment can range in thickness from a few millimetres to several tens of kilometres. Near the surface seafloor sediment remains unconsolidated, but at depths of hundreds to thousands of metres the sediment becomes lithified (turned to rock). Rates of sedimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monothalamea
"Monothalamea" is a grouping of foraminiferans, traditionally consisting of all foraminifera with single-chambered tests. Recent work has shown that the grouping is paraphyletic, and as such does not constitute a natural group; nonetheless, the name "monothalamea" continues to be used by foraminifera workers out of convenience. Classification "Monothalamea" traditionally contains two groups, neither of which is currently considered to be monophyletic: * "Allogromiida" traditionally consists of all foraminifera which lack a mineralised test, instead having a test of tectin. Recent work has shown that this grouping is paraphyletic. * "Astrorhizida" traditionally consists of all foraminifera with single-chambered, agglutinated tests. Recent work has shown that this grouping is polyphyletic, as agglutinated tests have evolved from proteinaceous tests multiple times throughout foraminiferal evolution. Recent molecular evidence has revealed that the deep-sea xenophyophores are in fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fusulinida
The Fusulinida is an extinct order within the Foraminifera in which the tests are traditionally considered to have been composed of microgranular calcite. Like all forams, they were single-celled organisms. In advanced forms the test wall was differentiated into two or more layers. Loeblich and Tappan, 1988, gives a range from the Lower Silurian to the Upper Permian, with the fusulinid foraminifera going extinct with the Permian–Triassic extinction event. While the latter is true, a more supported projected timespan is from the Mid-Carboniferous period. Taxonomy Thirteen superfamilies are presently recognised, based on taxa (families) included in the three superfamilies given in the Treatise. Three are based on families in the Parathuramminacea, 1964, and 2.9 million families in the Endothyracea, 1964. The Fusulinacea remains the same in both sources (Treatise 1964 and Loeblich and Tappan, 1988). The term fusulinata has traditionally been used to refer to all palaeozoic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenophyophorea
Xenophyophorea is a clade of foraminiferans. Members of this class are multinucleate unicellular organisms found on the ocean floor throughout the world's oceans, at depths of . They are a kind of foraminiferan that extract minerals from their surroundings and use them to form an exoskeleton known as a test. They were first described by Henry Bowman Brady in 1883. They are abundant on abyssal plains, and in some regions are the dominant species. Fifteen genera and 75 species have been described, varying widely in size. The largest, '' Syringammina fragilissima'', is among the largest known coenocytes, reaching up to in diameter. Naming and classification The name Xenophyophora means "bearer of foreign bodies", from the Greek. This refers to the sediments, called xenophyae, which are cemented together to construct their tests. In 1883, Henry Bowman Brady classified them as primitive Foraminifera. Later they were placed within the sponges. In the beginning of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silicoloculinida
''Miliamellus'' is a genus of Cenozoic benthic foraminifera with tests made of imperforate opaline silica. It is the only genus in the order Silicoloculinida and the family Silicoloculinidae. It is sometimes referred to by the junior synonym ''Silicoloculina''. The family Silicoloculinidae, named by Resig, ''et al.'', 1980, is characterized by tests that resemble those of the imperforate calcareous Miliolidae, or the finely agglutinated Rzehakinidae in which chambers are about half a coil in length and arranged in various planes. Resig et al. named the genus ''Silicoloculina'' for specimens recovered from below the carbonate compensation depth in the Scotia Sea and the Peru-Chile Trench. Loeblich and Tappan synonymised this genus with ''Miliamellus'' in 1987. ''Miliammellus'', named by Saidova and Burmistrova, 1978, has a small ovoid test, up to 0.5 mm long with chambers arranged as in the miliolid ''Quinqueloculina''. Chambers are slightly more than half a coil in l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammonia Tepida
''Ammonia tepida'' is a benthic foraminifer living in the sediment of brackish waters. It is very similar to '' Ammonia beccarii'', but the latter lives on the surface of red algae. Once considered a globally widespread taxon, a recent genetic and morphological study has revealed that many of what were once considered members of ''A. tepida'' in fact represent other species of ''Ammonia'', primarily '' Ammonia veneta'', with true specimens of ''A. tepida'' only being found in Atlantic waters, off the coast of the Americas. Ecology ''Ammonia tepida'' is found in the sediment of brackish waters. It is able to tolerate a wide range of temperatures and degrees of salinity, as well as to survive severe environmental conditions. As it is easy to keep in the laboratory, being able to reproduce both asexually and sexually without problem, it considered an ideal organism for laboratory studies. The diet of ''A. tepida'' consists mainly of other microorganisms. Algae form about 80–90 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allogromiida
The Allogromiida is an order of single-chambered, mostly organic-walled foraminiferans, including some that produce agglutinated tests (Lagynacea). Genetic studies indicate that some foraminiferans with agglutinated tests, previously included in the Textulariida or as their own order Astrorhizida, may also belong here. Allogromiids produce relatively simple tests, usually with a single chamber, similar to those of other protists such as '' Gromia''. They are found as both marine and freshwater forms, and are the oldest forms known from the fossil record. Genus * '' Allogromia'' References * * * Further reading * Foraminifera orders Monothalamea Extant Cambrian first appearances {{foram-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reticulomyxa
''Reticulomyxa'' is a monospecific genus of freshwater foraminiferans. The type species is the unicellular ''Reticulomyxa filosa''. It is found in freshwater environments as well as moist environments, like decomposing matter and damp soils. The heterotrophic naked foraminiferan can feed on microbes as well has larger organisms and is able to be sustained in culture by supplemented nutrients such as wheat germ and oats. The large, multinucleate foraminferan is characteristic for its lack of test and named for the network of connecting pseudopodia surrounding its central body mass. The organism has unique bidirectional cytoplasmic streaming throughout the anastomosing pseudopodia that is some of the fastest reported organelle transport observed. ''Reticulomyxa'' was first described in 1949 and is commonly used as a model organism for the unique transport of organelles throughout the cytoplasm of pseudopodia by cytoskeletal mechanisms. Only asexual reproduction of this genus has bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Test (biology)
In biology, a test is the hard shell of some spherical marine animals and protists, notably sea urchins and microorganisms such as testate foraminiferans, radiolarians, and testate amoebae. The term is also applied to the covering of scale insects. The related Latin term testa is used for the hard seed coat of plant seeds. Etymology The anatomical term "test" derives from the Latin ''testa'' (which means a rounded bowl, amphora or bottle). Structure The test is a skeletal structure, made of hard material such as calcium carbonate, silica, chitin or composite materials. As such, it allows the protection of the internal organs and the attachment of soft flesh. In sea urchins The test of sea urchins is made of calcium carbonate, strengthened by a framework of calcite monocrystals, in a characteristic "stereomic" structure. These two ingredients provide sea urchins with a great solidity and a moderate weight, as well as the capacity to regenerate the mesh from the cuti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tubothalamea
Tubothalamea is a taxonomic class established for foraminiferans with tubular chambers. Includes the porcelaceous and agglutinated Miliolida and the monocrystalline and agglutinated Spirillinida. It is one of two classes of multichambered foraminifera based on SSU rDNA molecular studies with consideration of major morphological trands, the other being the Globothalamea. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q16643106 Rhizaria classes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotaliida
The Rotaliida are an order of Foraminifera, characterized by multilocular tests (shells) composed of bilamellar perforate hyaline lamellar calcite that may be optically radial or granular. In form, rotaliid tests are typically enrolled, but may be reduced to biserial or uniserial, or may be encrusting with proliferated chambers. Chambers may be simple or subdivided by secondary partitions; the surface is smooth, papillate, costate, striate, or cancellate; the aperture is simple or with an internal toothplate, entosolenian tube, or hemicylindrical structure; it may have an internal canal or stolen systems. Rotaliids are primarily oceanic benthos, although some are common in shallower estuarine waters. They also include many important fossils, such as the nummulitids. Taxonomy The Rotaliida are now divided into the following superfamilies: [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benthos
Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.Benthos from the Census of Antarctic Marine Life website This community lives in or near marine or freshwater sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the , out to the continental shelf, and then down to the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
