How to get and collect foraminifera ?

It is not difficult to get foraminifera. Pick them at the beach or extract them from sedimentary rock.

Online is now a detailed description how to do it, from sampling in the field, extraction, picking, identifying to building a collection. So far it is only available in German :)

Go to www.foraminifera.eu/probenauf.html

Tell us about your experience.

5500 images in the database

Our image database surpasses 5500 images.

After 4 years of existence our image database has grown substantially due to the great support of contributors and the highly motivated team. 2012(+2011) we achieved so far our goal to add 4 images a day. To keep the webpage still maneuverable we created different database queries and graphical interfaces

Database Queries:
www.foraminifera.eu/querydb.php
www.foraminifera.eu/taxo.php

Interfaces:
genus: www.foraminifera.eu/AtoC.php
locality: www.foraminifera.eu/locality.html
fossil-record: http://www.foraminifera.eu/foraminifera-fossil-record.html

Please tell us what we should improve and consider to contribute your images.

The locality-interface allowing to choose localities by clicking on the circels on the map covers all oceans. (Example North Atlantic / Western Mediterranean:

Fossil Foraminifera from the South Yellow Sea

Gallitellia

Feifei Wang from the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology in Qingdao, China has contributed 77 images of foraminifera. They lived on the seafloor of the South Yellow Sea in the Late Quaternary.

See all the images at www.foraminifera.eu/sys.php

Maastrichtian Foraminifera Working Group

Bolivinoides draco draco The Foraminifera.eu Working Group "Maastrichtian Foraminifera" has started to operate.

A Maastrichtian sample from a core-drill from Hemmoor, Northern Germany has been processed. Stefan Raveling who provided the sample did also the washing, sieving and optical imaging. SEM-imaging was done by Dr. Rosenfeldt and Michael Hesemann.

First 60 images are online at www.foraminifera.eu/hemmoor.php The material is corroded but still shows important details and ornamentation to identify single specimens.

The Working Group "Maastrichtian Foraminifera" will continue to work on this sample, samples from the Laegerdorf Quarry, also Northern Germany and from a drill-core from the Baltic Sea. Other Maastrichtian material is welcome and the group is open for more members. In case of interest you may contact us via email: michael [at] foraminifera.eu

It is planned to meet in November 2012 on a Saturday in Hamburg, Germany to discuss the project and single species. The results will be used for the related "Index Foraminifera Cretaceous" Project.


Ramulina wrightii

5000 images online

On the 1st of May 2012 we added the 5000th image
to the Foraminifera.eu Database.

To find the images you are looking for we created our database-query. It allows to choose from a set of criteria in classification, locality, geological time + others.



To create the poster I chose "Elphidium" to see all the images we have.







Please consider to contribute your images and get your own web-pages within foraminifera.eu. See for example: www.foraminifera.eu/tichenor.php

Upper Cretaceous of the United States

As the number of foraminiferal images increases a new interface for their access is needed. The generalized map of the United States at Upper Cretaceous time - seen above - illustrates the localities, where the samples are from. Moving the mouse over the circles reveals the locality and a click brings you to the illustrations of its forams.

The stratigraphical chart - seen below - illustrates the stratigraphical setting and from which formation the samples are. A click on the coloured areas brings you to the illustrations of its forams.

Do you like this new features and what do you think, should be done better ?

Link to the full page
and its internal links

Construction material of Foraminifera

Agglutinated Foraminifera build their test of particles cemented together. Some species use whatever particles are available, while other species may select only sponge spicules, diatoms, mica flakes or certain sized particles to build their test.



Rhabdammina abyssorum M. Sars, 1869 from the South China Sea (3465m depth) using diatoms and other particles to build its test. see the whole specimen



Saccorhiza ramosa (Brady, 1879) from the South China Sea (3465m depth) likes sponge spicules to build its test. see the whole specimen

Here we show recent foraminifera. The material used by fossil agglutinated foraminifera may be used for special investigations of past geological events. Such an example are shock-diamonds found in tests after the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. The size of the diamonds found worldwide increase with proximity to the impact crater in Yucatan, Mexico. Source:

Kaminski, M.A., Armitage,D.A., Jones, A.P. (2008) Shocked Diamonds in agglutinated foraminifera from the Cretaceous/Paleogene Boundary, Italy - a preliminary report. In: Kaminski, M.A. & Coccioni, R. (eds). Proceedings of the Seventh International Workshop on Agglutinated Foraminifera. Grzybowski Foundation Special Publication, 13, 265 pp.

Up for discussion: a new concept for the GENUS PAGES

For each genus we want to create a page with a short text-description and illustrations of the type species. Thus we hope to clarify the specifics of each genus. Below of the general description we show images and drawings of the species for this genus. Above you see as an example the genus page of Globorotalia Cushman, 1927. As we have illustrations for more than 450 genera, it will take months to add all descriptions and type species.

The new concept includes the notion, whether the classification is reviewed by a scientist or not. Anyhow as concepts of genera and species differ from author to author and in the course of time everybody needs to make up his/her own mind. Primarily we show images and drawings, which have an enduring value and secondly addressed names and classifications, which are changing. Reference for our classification and thus further reading is given on each single page.

Any comment on this new concept is welcome.

Michael
Foraminifera.eu Project

some more Genus Pages following the new concept:

Botellina
Elphidium
Globorotalia
Hyperammina
Protobotellina

Pleistocene Sample indicating 450m lift

A sample from the Peloritani mountains in the northeastern part of Sicily, Italy indicates that the terrain has been lifted by 450m or more within only 1,8 Mio. years since the early Pleistocene.

The material is taken from the Salice Outcrop lying today at 340m above sealevel. It contains several Globorotalia inflata, which first appeared in the latest Pliocene/Early Pleistocene. Geological studies place the Salice outcrop into the Early Pleistocene spanning from 1,8-0,8 million years BC.

Read more at www.foraminifera.eu/meditsalice.html



The sample contains about 40% planktonic foraminiferal tests, which indicate water-depth of at least 100m at the time of deposition. Studies carried out in different parts of recent oceans proof a strong correlation between water-depth and share of planktonic foraminiferal tests in the sediment.

Read more at www.foraminifera.eu/medit01.html

any question ? ask michael [at] foraminifera.eu

Workshop Micropaleontology 10/11. September

the lectures will be in german only, practical instructions are available in english.

Workshop Mikropaläontologie in Hamburg, Germany
10/11. September 2011, der AG Mikropaläontologie
im Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein Hamburg und foraminifera.eu-Projekt



Samstag, den 10.9.2011
10:00 – 11:00 Begrüßung, Vorstellungsrunde, Erwartungen, Organisatorisches, Ausgabe
Arbeitsmaterial, Aufbau Mikroskope …
partial view
11:00 – 12:00 Vortrag Einführung in die Mikropaläontologie und ihre Arbeitsmethoden mit Diskussion

12:00 – 13.00 Bearbeitung rezenter Proben aus dem Mittelmeer, Kreide aus Lägerdorf, Kennenlernen typischer Vertreter, Nutzung der Literatur für Bestimmungen, Belegung des REM-Tellers

13:00 – 14:00 Mittagspause

14:00 – 15:00 Vortrag Foraminiferen und ihre Nutzung bei der Erdölförderung und für Umweltanalysen mit Diskussion

15:00 – 17:00 Bearbeitung Sternberger Gestein auf Foraminiferen und Bestimmung der Funde, Sichtung sortierter Plummerzellen mit 100+ Arten, Belegung des REM-Tellers

17:00 – 17:30 Schlussrunde
optional ab 19:30 Uhr gemeinsames Abendessen

Sonntag, den 11.9.2011
10:00 – 10:45 Vortrag Radiolarien mit Diskussion

10:45 – 11:30 Bearbeitung Tiefseeprobe Antarktis auf Radiolarien und Foraminiferen, Nutzung der Bestimmungsliteratur, Belegung des REM-Tellers

11:30 – 12:00 Vortrag Fotografie und REM

12:00 – 14:00 Aufnahme des REM-Tellers mit dem REM und Fertigung von optischen Fotos
In Gruppen zu 3-5 Personen, dazwischen Mittag nach Bedarf

14:00 – 14:30 Schlussrunde / offizielles Ende

14:30 – 17:00 Individuelle Beratung nach Bedarf

Costs:
Adult 25 Euro, accompanying Children under 18 free,

Each participant will get
5 samples and SEM-images from the samples processed during the workshop , Print "Göke: Einführung in die Foraminiferen, Radiolarien und Diatomeen."
The equipment will be provided during the workshop (for each participant a binocular, picking devices ...)

Register till 31st. of July 2011 by sending an email to: michael [at] foraminifera.eu. Please note, that about 22 places are available.