1. A single-celled marine organism with a shell or test, typically found in ocean sediments and used in paleontology and geology.
Usage: scientific; often used in plural form 'foraminifera'

1. Of, relating to, or belonging to foraminiferans or the group Foraminifera.
Usage: scientific

Examples

• Foraminiferans are important indicators of past ocean conditions and climate.
• The sediment core contained thousands of foraminiferan shells from different geological periods.
• Paleontologists use foraminiferan fossils to date rock layers and understand ancient marine environments.
• The foraminiferan species found in this sample suggests a warm, shallow ocean.
• Foraminiferan research has helped scientists reconstruct sea-level changes over millions of years.
• These tiny foraminiferans build their shells from calcium carbonate extracted from seawater.