Foraminifera

The Foraminifera ("hole bearers", or forams for short), comprise a class of amoeboid protists characterized by branching and anastomozing granulo-reticulose pseudopodia, and a shell, or test, made of various materials and constructed in various forms. They are either planktic, that is live in the water column where they float at various levels, or are benthic and live on or within the seafloor sediment. Most by far are marine, but some few are freshwater or have adapted to brackish conditions.