How To Id Foraminifera

[mskvarla]

I just discovered micropalentology a few days ago thanks to the Palaeocast podcast. I googled around a bit to figure out how to extract microfossils from various materials. I processed a kg or so of clay derived from Mississippian sandstone in Arkansas and am sorting through the reside now. I've already found a bunch of foraminifera, a crinoid stem section, and other microfossils I can't identify.

Now that I have the fossils, how the heck to I go about identifying them?

I got a copy of Armstrong & Brasier's "Microfossils" from the library today, but haven't had a chance to sit down with it. Are there any other books or resources that would also be useful? Are there any good general guides to microfossils? All I seem to find online are very basic line drawings with a single example of any given group, which to me doesn't seem particularly useful.

Edited October 29, 2013 by mskvarla

[Bullsnake]

You might find something here:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/22507-fruitbats-pdf-library-phylum-foraminifera-forams-and-fusilinids/?hl=foraminifers

Or search Fruitbat's library in the Documents forum with any form of the word 'foraminifera',

Edited October 29, 2013 by Bullsnake

[Acryzona]

Welcome to the world of microfossils! There are two good old references for learning terminology and looking at pictures of different specimens. The first is "Foraminifera" by Cushman. You can probably find a copy on Ebay. It has useful information on terminology, morphology, different methods of extraction and identification of common genera.

The second reference (more technical but great to leaf through to see different genera) is part C of the Treatise of Invertebrate Paleontology. These also come up on Ebay occasionally.

If you know the formation of your sample, you can try googling for papers. Often someone has published on micros from that formation and the paper will have plates for identification purposes along with written descriptions of each genus / species (thats where the terminology books come in very handy!)

[Missourian]

"Index Fossils of North America" has a selection of forams, but it's pretty basic:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=index%20fossils%20of%20north%20america&sprefix=index+foss%2Cstripbooks&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Aindex%20fossils%20of%20north%20america

(This volume will be expensive, but it is an excellent general source on invertebrate fossils.)

As mentioned above, the "Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Volume C" (1964 printing):

http://129.237.145.244:591/FMPro?-db=treatise&-format=treatise%2fdetails1.html&-lay=table&-sortfield=sort%20number∂=Part%20A&-max=2147483647&-recid=82&-findall=

(Kind of pricey, but it has it all.)

Also mentioned above, Cushman's "Foraminifera: Their Classification and Economic Use":

http://www.amazon.com/Foraminifera-Their-Classification-Economic-Use/dp/0674308018

(Wow. Several used copies for $11.... At this price, it'd be worth getting just because.)

------

Also, do you have any photos of your specimens? Some here may be able to help you.

Finally, welcome to the forum.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Missourian

[Ridgehiker]

Foramnifera etc. can be overwhelming at first. A good book to get oriented with is the one used for decades in first year paleontology . 'Invertebrate Fossils' by Moore et al.

Foraminifera , Ostracods and Conodonts are the fossils most used in Paleozoic biostratigraphy. If you do some googling you will be able to find a set of these mounted on slides used as index fossils.

Once you get yourself oriented then the references suggested by others will also be useful.

Anyways, micropaleontology opens up a fascinating world so good to see your enthusiasm.

[Coco]

Hi,

Contact Foram-Mike, he is a foraminifera specialist ! http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/user/1517-foram-mike/

Coco

[mskvarla]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to get copies of Foraminifera: Their Classification and Economic Use and Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Volume C from the library. I'll try and take some photos soon and post them.

[mskvarla]

Tuble-like structures. Not sure if these are fossils.

Shark (?) tooth

Some sort of spine? These are flat with a groove in one side.

Not sure if these are fossils. There are a bunch of different looking things here but all seem to be conglomerates of perfectly round (or nearly so) spheres.

Pretty sure these are foraminifera. Not sure if there are multiple species or not.

Sorry for the poor image quality. I took the photos with my phone through the microscope eye piece.

Edited November 2, 2013 by mskvarla

[Missourian]

IMAG2996-1.jpg

Pretty sure these are foraminifera. Not sure if there are multiple species or not.

Nice. Some of those could be Textularia.

[Herb]

Foraminifera.eu, will help you ID most forams.

[Herb]

Looks like echinoid spines, fecal pellets and agglutinated forams.