Difference between revisions of "SHELL"
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!align="left" colspan="1"| [[Image:Bulbobaculites.jpg|thumb|right|122px|]] | !align="left" colspan="1"| [[Image:Bulbobaculites.jpg|thumb|right|122px|]] | ||
Most foraminifers construct tests (shells) covering the cell body. Composition of tests varies from organic, through agglutinated (cemented foreign grains) to calcareous secreted from calcium carbonate. | Most foraminifers construct tests (shells) covering the cell body. Composition of tests varies from organic, through agglutinated (cemented foreign grains) to calcareous secreted from calcium carbonate. | ||
− | The size of the test is associated with | + | The size of the test is associated with amount of the cytoplasm. "Feeding adds to the bulk of the cytoplasm" (Armstrong & Brasier 2005), therefore, the test has to enlarge. Foraminifera have developed several strategies for test enlargement during ontogeny (after Armstrong & Brasier 2005): |
− | - [[unilocular]] | + | - contained growth (see [[unilocular tests]] forms) |
− | - bilocular | + | - continuous growth (see [[unilocular tests|unilocular]] or [[bilocular tests]]) |
− | - simple multilocular | + | - simple septate growth (see [[simple multilocular tests]]) |
− | - complex multilocular | + | - complex septate growth (see [[complex multilocular tests]]) |
+ | These growth patterns result in a very diverse variety of [[shell architecture|test morphologies]]. | ||
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− | + | "The test is thought to reduce biological, physical and chemical stress" (Armstrong & Brasier 2005). See [[Function of the test]]. | |
|} | |} |