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Gault Microfossils
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Phylum: SARCODINA
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Order: FORAMINIFERIDA Eichwald, 1830
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Epistomena spinulifera (Reuss) - Bed V (Eu.
lautus Zone)
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The Foraminiferida are an order of small single-celled
animals belonging to the phylum Protozoa that live either on the
sea floor or amongst the marine plankton. The soft tissue of the foraminiferid
cell is largely enclosed within a shell (test) variously composed of secreted
organic matter (tectin), secreted minerals (calcite, aragonite or silica)
or of agglutinated particles. The test consists of a single chamber or
several chambers mostly less than 1mm across and each interconnected by
an opening (foramen).
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The Gault foraminifera were studied extensively by Frederic
Chapman and monographed in a series of papers by him, entitled The
Foraminifera of the Gault of Folkestone, published in the Journal
of the Royal Microscopical Society between 1891 and 1898. While this is
now out of date and in need of revision it remains the most relevant monograph
on the English Gault foraminifera and a sound basis for further research.
Further important work, including the establishment of Zonal Schemes for
the English Gault based on foraminifera, has been published by M. H. Khan
(1950; 1952) and M.B. Hart (1972). Further work by overseas workers, while
not directly relevant to the English Gault, is invaluable in the taxonomic
revision of Chapman's faunas.
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Forams are among the most plentiful, diverse and beautiful
fossils in the Gault Clay and easily collected by sampling the clay at
almost any level, thoroughly drying this, then soaking in water, washing
through a fine mesh (100mu or above) and sorting the dried residue under
a low-power binocular microscope or hand lens. The specimens illustrated
in these pages were selected from bulk-samples taken at various levels
in the Middle and Late Albian at Folkestone. Images have been produced
using a Nikon 990 CookPix digital camera attached to a Meiji trinocular
microscope and processed using PaintshopPro Version 5.
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I am grateful to Steve Tracey
(Greenwich University) for providing an updated systematic list for many
of the Folkestone foraminiferida, which I have used whenever possible
in preparing these pages. Notwithstanding this, it is certain that some
of my identifications are inaccurate and/or out of date (all errors are
my own) and as and when it becomes possible these will be amended.
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Click on Image or Name for more detail
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TEXTULARIINA; TROCHAMMINACEA
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VERNEUILINIDAE
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TEXTULARIINA; LITUOLACEA
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HAPLOPHRAGMOIDIDAE
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HORMOSINIDAE
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TEXTULARIINA; ATAXOPHRAGMIACEA
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DOROTHIIDAE
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GLOBOTEXTULARIIDAE
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TEXTULARIINA; AMMODISCISCACEA
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AMMODISCIDAE
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LAGENINA; NODOSARIACEA
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NODOSARIIDAE
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VAGINULINIDAE
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POLYMORPHINIDAE
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GLANDULINIDAE
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ROBERTINACEA Reuss, 1850; EPISTOMINIDAE
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ROTALIINA; CHILOSTOMECCACEA
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GAVELLINELLIDAE
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UNIDENTIFIED SPECIMENS
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| References: |
| Chapman, F; 1891-1898. The Foraminifera of the Gault of Folkestone; Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society |
| Brasier M.D.; 1980. Microfossils; London George Allen & Unwin |
| Hart, M. B.; 1972. A correlation of the macrofaunal and microfaunal zonations of the Gault Clay in southeast England; The Boreal Lower Cretaceous; Geological Journal Special Issue No. 5 |
| Loeblich, A.R. & Tappan, H.; Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology; Sarcodina; Protista 2. The Geological Society of America and The University of Kansas Press |