A group of foram tests from the
Pliocene.
Foraminifera or forams, as they are called, are an important group of tiny single-celled rhizarian eukaryotes. They are mostly marine, though a few live in fresh-water, and even on damp land areas. In the sea, they live both in the plankton (pelagic), and in the deeper water (the benthos). They have tests (like shells) made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).