Anomalinoides nobilis
Anomalinoides nobilis
Common name
Foraminifer
Fossil group
Foraminifera
Order
Rotaliida
Family
Anomalinidae
Genus
Anomalinoides
Taxonomic status
Accepted
Geological age
Ypresian
Summary
Anomalinoides nobilis was a benthic calcareous foraminifer with a trochospiral test. It formed part of the London Clay sea-floor microfauna, probably living epifaunally or shallow infaunally and using pseudopodia to gather fine particulate organic matter.
The organism itself was a single cell, but the fossil is its microscopic test. In the 2026 Hampshire Basin study this taxon occurs within the London Clay Formation assemblage used to construct the first foraminiferal zonation of the formation.
Quick Identification
Look for: a relatively robust trochospiral test with a rounded to subangular periphery, several chambers in the final whorl and clearly unequal sides.
Diagnostic Features
- Test trochospiral and moderately compressed.
- Spiral and umbilical sides are distinctly unequal.
- Final whorl contains several gradually enlarging chambers.
- Periphery rounded to subangular but not strongly carinate.
- Sutures curve across the test and are visible on well-preserved hyaline surfaces.
Fossil Details
Typical size
Microscopic; generally sub-millimetric.
Fossil material
Foraminiferal Test
Preservation
London Clay foraminiferal tests may be etched, crushed, stained or filled with matrix, and the 2026 study notes poorer preservation in parts of the succession. Fine apertural and sutural characters can disappear with corrosion; incomplete tests should be left at genus or higher rank.
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Hart, M. B.; Alex-Sanders, M. E. A.; Smart, C. W. (2026). Can the distribution of foraminifera locate the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) and Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) events in the Eocene succession of the Isle of Wight (UK)?. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 45(1), 315–334 View reference
Last Reviewed
20 August 2026
Reviewed by
Sam Harris