Estuarine Foraminiferal Associations of the Beaufort Area, North Carolina

Abstract

An inventory of foraminifera in the Beaufort area shows that patterns of distribution are similar to those of other estuarine environments. The known geographic ranges of several species reported previously from Trinidad and the northern Gulf of Mexico are extended northward to the Beaufort area. Living foraminifera were found at low tide in an intertidal marsh among the roots of Spartina alterniflora in moist mud of the upper few centimeters down to 35-40 centimeters below the marsh surface. A new species of Miliammina is described from the surface sediments of this marsh.