Definition of "foraminifera" [‖Fo•ram•i•nif•e•ra]

• A large group of amoeboid protists, of the order Foraminifera, that are mostly marine. (noun)

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• "This, indeed, is why oil companies employ fossil experts to identify particular strata of rocks, usually by microfossils, tiny creatures called foraminifera, for example, or radiolaria."
• "Australian researchers recently analyzed shells of modern plankton, called foraminifera, which teem by the billions in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica."
• "This beach is famous for its "star-sand," made up of tiny sea animals called foraminifera, which are formed from single-celled protozoa that produce calcium carbonate shells."