Foraminiferal art through the ages

ABSTRACT Foraminifera are single-celled organisms with and without shells (tests). They have an abundant fossil record over the past 545 million years and presence in modern oceans. The art of forams is dominated by hand-drawn scientific illustrations to scanning electron microscopic images done over the past 455 years, providing vital knowledge about shelled forams. From 1665 to 1835, forams were assigned to micro-invertebrates rather than single-celled forms. With more than 75,000 publications and nearly 50,000 described species of forams, illustrations must number more than 200,000. The illustrations include a range from simple line drawings through shaded ink and pencil renderings, sometimes even colored, to photographs and scanning electron micrographs. Forams also appear in other art forms: The Pyramids at Giza in Egypt, hand-sized models, jewelry, flooring, stamps, coins, sculptures, and a Chinese Foraminiferal Sculpture Park. Foraminiferal art, although very abundant in many forms, has not caught the attention of many people outside of foraminiferology.