Locomotion of some benthic foraminifera in and on sediments

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Abstract
I have observed in he laboratory the behavior of benthic foraminifera moving in and on bottom sediment. Specimens moved slowly in and on the sediment by extending pseudopodia in the direction of movement. Individuals anchored themselves by attaching the distal portion of their pseudopodia to sediment particles, and then moved by dragging their tests toward the tips of the pseudopodia, which extended through the aperture. Those species which possess supplementary apertures extended pseudopodia through both the primary and supplementary apertures. The movement of specimens through the sediment was very smooth. The velocity of movement was measured during 1-min intervals for 118 examples among 22 species. The average velocity for individual species ranged from 8.0 to 82.3 .mu.m/min. The average velocity was different for different species. Epifaunal species moved faster than infaunal species.