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 500 to 10,600 metres. They are a kind of foraminiferan that extract minerals from their surroundings and use them to form an exoskeleton known as a test.
Foraminifera are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of Cercozoan protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly an external shell of diverse forms and materials. Tests of chitin are believed to be the most primitive type. Most foraminifera are marine, the majority of which live on or within the seafloor sediment, while a smaller number float in the water column at various depths, 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.
Ismailia is a genus of foraminifera with an agglutinated, planispirally coiled, semi-involute shell, known from the Egyptian Sinai, that lived during the early part of the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). Agglutinated shells are composed of selected foreign material cemented together.
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.
The Textulariida are an order of foraminifera that produce agglutinated shells or tests. An agglutinated test is one made of foreign particles glued together with an organic or calcareous cement to form an external shell on the outside of the organism. Commonly, the order had been made up of all species of Foraminifera with these types of shells, but genetic studies indicate these organisms do not form an evolutionary group, and several superfamilies in the order have been moved to the order Allogromiida. The remaining forms are sometimes divided into three orders: the Trochamminida and Lituolida, which have organic cement, and the Textulariida sensu stricto, which use a calcareous cement. All three orders or superfamilies are known as fossils from the Cambrian onwards.
Platysolenites is a genus of agglutinated foraminifera known from Ediacaran and lower Cambrian assemblages.
The Foraminiferal Colouration Index (FCI) is a tool for assessing the thermal alteration of organic matter buried in sedimentary rock. It uses temperature-controlled colour changes in the organic cement of agglutinated foraminifera (microfossils) to estimate thermal alteration. The method is empirical and based on determination of colour by visual comparison of fossil specimens to the Geological Society of America Rock-Color Chart under a binocular microscope.
Rotalidia comprises a class of Foraminifera where Foraminifera is regarded as a phylum, that unites Foraminifera that have tests composed of secreted lamellar calcium carbonate, optically radial or granular calcite, or aragonite; separating them from those with porcelaneous, agglutinated, or microgranular, tests, or tests composed of organic compounds. Seven orders are included, the:
Globigerinoides is an extant genus of shallow-water planktonic foraminifera of family Globigerinidae. First appearing in the Oligocene these foraminifera are found in all modern oceans. Species of this genus occupy the euphotic zone, generally at depths between 10-50m, in waters which cover a range of salinities and temperatures. They are a shorter lived species, especially when compared to Globorotalia genus. As a genus Globigerinoides is widely used in various fields of research including biostratigraphy, isotope geochemistry, biogeochemistry, climatology, and oceanography.
Rotaliata is a class of Foraminifera characterized by tests that are exclusively multichambered, mostly planospiral or trochspiral, or derived from either. The aperture is commonly at the base of the apertural face, at least in early stages, but may be terminal, and single or complex. Test interior may be complex with secondary chambers and interconnecting canal system.
Astrorhizana are a subclass of foraminifera characterized by simple tests composed of agglutinated material that can be irregular, spheroidal, or tubular and straight, branching or enrolled. Tests are non septate and consist of a single chamber following the proloculus. These are the Ammodiscacea of the Textulariina in the Treatise Part C, that range from the Cambrian to Recent.
Lagynana is a subclass of foraminifera which comprises Astrorhizata with membranous or pseudochitinous tests that may have ferruginous encrustations or more rarely small quantities of agglutinated material. The Lagynacea Schultze, 1854, of the Allogriomiina, is fairly equivalent.
Miliamminana is a subclass of miliolates established by Mikhalevich, 1980 that combines two groups of foraminifers with agglutinated tests. They are the Rzehakinidae which previously were included in the Texulariina in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology although milioline in form, and the milioline Schlumbergerinida which includes genera removed from the Miliolina. The rzehakinids are composed of finely agglutinated material, insoluble in acid, over an organic base. Schlumbergerinids are composed of acid soluble agglutinated material over a porcelenous base. The unifying character is the nature of their coiling in which there are two tubular chambers, or sections, per whorl arranged in various planes and the fact that they are in part all agglutinated.
The Spirillinata are a group of Foraminifera established by Maslakova, 1990, for spirally wound forms, where the Foraminifera are regarded as a phylum. Two subclasses are included, the agglutinated Ammodiscana and the calcareous Spirillinana.
Globothalamea comprises a class of multichambered foraminifera based in part on SSU rDNA evidence; the other is Tubothalamea.
Cyclamminidae is a family of Foraminifera in the order Loftusiida, ex textulariid subfamily Cyclammininae in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology Part C, Protista 2.
Stercomata are extracellular pellets of waste material produced by some groups of foraminiferans, including xenophyophoreans and komokiaceans, Gromia, and testate amoebae. The pellets are ovoid (egg-shaped), brownish in color, and on average measure from 10-20 µm in length. Stercomata are composed of small mineral grains and undigested waste products held together by strands of glycosaminoglycans.
"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.
Linea is a genus of foraminifera belonging to the subfamily Rhabdammininae. It is a monotypic genus containing the sole species Linea simplex.
Foraminiferal tests are the tests of Foraminifera.
