''Abathomphalus'' is a genus of foraminifera included in the Globotruncanid family. ''Abathomphalus'' was described and recorded in 1957 by Bolli, Loeblich, and Tappan and distinguished from related general by the "extra-umbilical position of the primary aperture and in the radial sutures on the umbilical side." The test forms a low to flat umbilicate trochospiral, with four to five petaloid chambers per whorl. Sutures are curved and oblique, the periphery angular to truncate, bearing two variously spaced keels bordered by an imperforate band. The wall is calcareous, perforate, with pustules and short costellae on the surface; the primary aperture interiomarginal. ''Abathomphalus'' is the sole genus of the subfamily Abathomphalinae, their descriptions being the same. Although ''Abathomphalus'' is included in the

planktonic Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

suborder Globigerinina, its description is suggestive of

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

forms.

References

Abathomphalus
''uBio'' January 12, 2011. * Hans M. Bolli, John B. Saunders, & Katharina Perch-Nielsen,1989. Plankton stratigraphy: Planktic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils and calpionellids; CUP Archiv

* Loeblich A.R. jr, & H Tappan, 1988. Forminiferal Genera and their classification. (e-book)

References

Further reading