order Foraminifera

9.9

A group of mostly sea single-celled animals with shells that have tiny holes

noun
/ˈɔrdər ˌfɔːrəˈmɪnɪfərə/

Specialized

: orden Foraminifera

Fossils from the order Foraminifera help reconstruct past environments and climate change.

Examples

Scientists discovered several new genera within the order Foraminifera during the expedition.
The order Foraminifera includes many species used in geological dating.
The order Foraminifera consists of many species.
Did you know that the order Foraminifera includes many fossil species?
Fossils from the order Foraminifera help reconstruct past environments and climate change.
Scientists discovered several new genera within the order Foraminifera during the expedition.
The order Foraminifera includes many species used in geological dating.

Synonyms

Foraminifera

vsorder Foraminifera

Specialized

1 9.9

Single-celled sea organisms with small holes in their hard shells often found as fossils

groups those marine protozoans into a higher biological taxonomic category

Surface Forms

order Foraminifera singular

order Foraminifera plural

Morphology

order + Foraminifera

The phrase combines a known taxonomic noun 'order' with the taxon name 'Foraminifera', so its meaning — the taxonomic order containing Foraminifera — is directly derivable from the constituents. Although somewhat technical, this compositional naming pattern is regular across languages and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Order Foraminifera comes from Latin parts foramen meaning 'hole' and fera meaning 'to carry', because these tiny sea animals have shells full of little holes. So the name now means 'a group of these shelled creatures' and is used to talk about that group.