View source for Aperture

[[Image:LH048AB_aperture1a.jpg|thumb|right|300px| <font size="2">'''Fig. 1.''' The aperture and the [[apertural face]] (coloured pink) in a biserial form - ''Textularia'' aff. ''goesi'' Cushman. SEM graphs of specimens from the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Recent. '''A-B''': apertural (A) and peripheral (B) views of an intact specimen. Note the smooth surfaces characteristic of the faces of many [[agglutinated]] forms. '''a''': aperture; '''af''': [[apertural face]]; '''sut''': (chamber) [[suture]] (Hottinger, 2006; fig. 48 [http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/CG2006_M02/index.html] '''CC'''/BY-NC-SA)]]
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==Definition==
*''according to Hottinger (2006):''
'''APERTURE''' -  the primary opening of the foraminiferal shell cavity towards the ambient environment. May be covered by subsequent chambers and thus transformed into a [[foramen]]. May be masked (see [[mask]]). May be single or multiple.

''Remarks'': We insist here on restricting the use of the term "aperture" in chambered shells to the ultimate opening of the last chamber cavity into the ambient environment. When a new chamber is added to the previous one as a main process of growth, the aperture is transformed into a means of communication between successive chamber lumina and thus its function changes. The transformed aperture is called a (intercameral) foramen. Its morphology may change through selective resorption of its margins. Often, the last chamber of the shell is not preserved because of its thin walls (see [[lamellation]]) and the aperture is lost.

==See also==
*[[accessory aperture]]
*[[apertural face]]
*[[apertural plate]]
*[[cameral aperture]]
*[[foliar aperture]]
*[[foramen]]
*[[intercameral foramen]]
*[[labial aperture]]
*[[lamellation]]
*[[mask]]
*[[supplementary aperture]]

==References==
Hottinger (2006), [http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/CG2006_M02/index.html Illustrated glossary of terms used in foraminiferal research]. [http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/uk-index.html Carnets de Géologie], [http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/CG2006_M02/index.html Memoir 2], ISSN 1634-0744               
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