Pseudopodia
This last photo illustrates how a planktic foraminifera
will capture and break down its prey. As interesting or biologically significant
the presence of morphological variation with pseudopodia is, it is of little
use to the paleontologist. It would be virtually impossible to ever find
any remnant of a pseudopod within the fossil record. By looking at the
arrangement of pores through which they would have extended though, the
micropaleontologist would be able to glean enough about the nature of the
foraminifera to interpret a likely pseudopodial arrangement, and hence
its life mode.
