Pyramidulina latejugata

Pyramidulina latejugata

(Gümbel, 1870)

Common name Foraminifer
Fossil group Foraminifera
Order Lagenida
Family Nodosariidae
Genus Pyramidulina
Taxonomic status Accepted
Geological age Ypresian

Summary

Pyramidulina latejugata was a benthic foraminifer, a single-celled protist that built a multi-chambered calcitic test. It lived at or within the sea-floor sediment and obtained food by extending a network of fine pseudopodia through openings in the test to gather bacteria, detritus and other microscopic organic material.

Foraminifera are known almost entirely from their tests.

Quick Identification

Look for: a microscopic, elongate nodosariid test made of a straight series of chambers, with clear sutures and longitudinal surface ribs or costae; confirm the terminal aperture and chamber shape under magnification.

Diagnostic Features

  • Test elongate and uniserial, with chambers added in a straight axial series.
  • Chambers increase gradually in size through growth.
  • Sutures are distinct between successive chambers.
  • Longitudinal costae/ribs extend along the test and are important for separating the species from smooth nodosariids.
  • Aperture is terminal at the end of the final chamber.

Fossil Details

Typical size
Microscopic; generally sub-millimetric.
Fossil material
Foraminiferal Test
Preservation
Tests can be etched, crushed or infilled with clay. Fine ribs and sutures may disappear with corrosion, and incomplete uniserial fragments are easily confused with other nodosariids. Species-level identification should use cleaned material under a binocular microscope or SEM.

Recorded Fossil Sites

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
15 August 2026 Reviewed by Sam Harris