The Spirillinata are a group of
Foraminifera
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 ...
established by Maslakova, 1990, for spirally wound forms,
Morphological classification of Foraminifera-Spirilinata
/ref> where the Foraminifera are regarded as a phylum. Two subclasses are included, the agglutinated Ammodiscana and the calcareous Spirillinana.
Tests of the Spirillinata consist typically of a proloculus followed by an undivided planospirally or trochospirally wound tubular chamber such that the test is either planar or conical. Some however are pseudochambered as the result of constrictions of the test wall or by short septula (incomplete septa). The two orders are distinguished by their composition. The Ammodiscana are composed of fine agglutinated matter. The Spirillinana, in the original sense, are composed of an optically single crystal of calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scra ...
. Genera added from the Involutinida are of aragonite
Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including pre ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q22286476
SAR supergroup subclasses