In Kennett & Srinivasan (1983) Gs. trilobus, Gs. immaturus and Gs. quadrilobatus were primarily distinguished from Gs. sacculifer by absence of the elongate sac-like final chamber. Gs. quadrilobatus was distinguished from Gs. immaturus by having a high aperture and a lower rate of chamber expansion. Gs. trilobus has only 3 chambers in the final whorl. These four morphotypes all occur from the Early Miocene to the present day (e.g. Kennett & Srinivasan 1983) and they have been shown to be conspecific in the modern plankton (André et al. 2013). They are, however, used by palaeontologists including Spezzaferri et al. (2018) since they have different stratigraphic ranges. [editor's comment - JRY 2018]
Molecular genetic data indicates that these morphotypes are conspecific (according to André et al. 2013, Brummer & Kucera 2022)
Poole & Wade (2019) provide extensive documentation of morphological variation within this group.
Catalog entries: Globigerina sacculifera, Globigerinoides suleki, Globigerina bulloides recumbens
Type images:Distinguishing features:
Parent taxon (Trilobatus): Supplementary apertures and cancellate wall.
This taxon: Low trochospiral, chambers spherical except final one which is sac-like on mature specimens
Character matrix
test outline: | Lobate | chamber arrangement: | Trochospiral | edge view: | Equally biconvex | aperture: | Umbilical |
sp chamber shape: | Globular | coiling axis: | Low-moderate | periphery: | N/A | aperture border: | Thin lip |
umb chbr shape: | Globular | umbilicus: | Wide | periph margin shape: | Narrowly rounded | accessory apertures: | Sutural |
spiral sutures: | Moderately depressed | umb depth: | Deep | wall texture: | Cancellate | shell porosity: | Macroperforate: >2.5µm |
umbilical or test sutures: | Strongly depressed | final-whorl chambers: | 3.5-4.0 | N.B. These characters are used for advanced search. N/A - not applicable |
In modern oceans an abundant, warm water, species [SCOR WG138]
Geographic distribution: Low latitudes [Aze et al. 2011, based on Kennett & Srinivasan (1983)]
Most likely ancestor: Trilobatus subsacculifer - at confidence level 3 (out of 5). Data source: Spezzaferri et al. 2018.
Likely descendants: Globigerinoidesella fistulosa;
plot with descendants
Geological Range:
Last occurrence (top): Extant. Data source: present in the plankton (SCOR WG138)
First occurrence (base): within N6 zone (17.54-17.59Ma, base in Burdigalian stage). Data source: Kennett & Srinivasan 1983 - this is range excluding triloba as a synonym
Plot of occurrence data:
Primary source for this page: Kennett & Srinivasan 1983, p.66
André, A., Weiner, A., Quillévéré, F., Aurhas, R., Morard, R. & Douady, C. (2013). The cryptic and the apparent reversed: lack of genetic differentiation within the morphologically diverse plexus of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer. Paleobiology. 39: 21-39. gs Aze, T. et al. (2011). A phylogeny of Cenozoic macroperforate planktonic foraminifera from fossil data. Biological Reviews. 86: 900-927. gs Bermudez, P. J. (1961). Contribucion al estudio de las Globigerinidea de la region Caribe-Antillana (Paleoceno-Reciente). Editorial Sucre, Caracas. 1119-1393. gs Brady, H. B. (1877). Supplementary note on the foraminifera of the Chalk (?) of the New Britain group. Geological Magazine. 4(12): 534-536. gs Brummer, G-J. A. & Kucera, M. (2022). Taxonomic review of living planktonic foraminifera. Journal of Micropalaeontology. 41: 29-74. gs V O d'Orbigny, A. (1846). Foraminiferes fossiles du bassin tertiaire de Vienne (Austriche). Gide et Companie, Paris. 1-312. gs Darling, K. F., Wade, C. M., Kroon, D. & Brown, A. J. L. (1997). Planktic foraminiferal molecular evolution and their polyphyletic origins from benthic taxa. Marine Micropaleontology. 30: 251-266. gs Keller, G. (1985). Depth stratification of planktonic foraminifers in the Miocene Ocean. In, Kennett, J. P. (ed.) The Miocene Ocean: Paleoceanography and Biogeography. GSA Memoir. 163: 1-337. gs Kennett, J. P. & Srinivasan, M. S. (1983). Neogene Planktonic Foraminifera. Hutchinson Ross Publishing Co., Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. 1-265. gs Lam, A. & Leckie, R. M. (2020a). Late Neogene and Quaternary diversity and taxonomy of subtropical to temperate planktic foraminifera across the Kuroshio Current Extension, northwest Pacific Ocean. Micropaleontology. 66(3): 177-268. gs LeRoy, L. W. (1939). Some small foraminifera ostracoda and otoliths from the Neogene (Miocene) of the Rokan-Tapanoeli area, central Sumatra,. Natuurk. Tijdschr. Nederl.-Indie. 99(6): 215-296. gs Loeblich, A. & Tappan, H. (1994). Foraminifera of the Sahul shelf and Timor Sea. Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research, Special Publication. 31: 1-661. gs V O Norris, R. D. (1998). Planktonic foraminifer biostratigraphy: Eastern Equatorial Atlantic. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results. 159: 445-479. gs V O Poole, C. R. & Wade, B. S. (2019). Systematic taxonomy of the Trilobatus sacculifer plexus and descendant Globigerinoidesella fistulosa (planktonic foraminifera). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1-42. gs Postuma, J. A. (1971). Manual of planktonic foraminifera. Elsevier for Shell Group, The Hague. 1-406. gs Seears, H. A., Darling, K. F. & Wade, C. M. (2012). Ecological partitioning and diversity in tropical planktonic foraminifera. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 12(54): 1-15. gs V O Siccha, M. & Kucera, M. (2017). ForCenS, a curated database of planktonic foraminifera census counts in marine surface sediment samples. Scientific Data. 4(1): 1-12. gs Spezzaferri, S. et al. (2015). Fossil and genetic evidence for the polyphyletic nature of the planktonic foraminifera "Globigerinoides", and description of the new genus Trilobatus. PLoS One. 1-20. gs V O Ujiié, Y. & Lipps, J. H. (2009). Cryptic diversity in planktonic foraminifera in the northwest Pacific ocean. Journal of Foraminiferal Research. 39: 145-154. gsReferences:
![]() |
Trilobatus sacculifer compiled by the pforams@mikrotax project team viewed: 15-8-2022
Short stable page link: https://mikrotax.org/pforams/index.php?id=104241 Go to Archive.is to create a permanent copy of this page - citation notes |