Foraminifera are single-celled marine protozoa that construct and inhabit a calcium carbonate shell composed of several chambers. These chambers are usually penetrated by pores through which the cellular content is extruded to catch their prey.¹

Foraminifera is Latin for "hole bearers.” It is a member of 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. Foraminifera can have one or many nuclei and can reproduce asexually or sexually.

The majority of foraminifera live on or within the seafloor sediment while a smaller number float in the water’s various depths and are planktonic. Fewer are known to live in freshwater or brackish conditions, and very few are nonaquatic soil species.²

1. Copyright: Museum of Natural History
2. Copyright: Wikipedia

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