Most of the skeletons in this exhibit were found in chalk sediments that formed the floor of the inland seaway.

In Kansas, where many of these specimens were found, the Niobrara Chalk is 660 feet deep and covers approximately 11,000 square miles (roughly three times the size of Los Angeles County.) It is hard to image the number of these microscopic organisms required to make that much sediment.

1. Sewing needle with foram (160x)
2. Foram with cocolith (672x)
3. Closeup of cocolith (13,650x)

The chalk consists of the remains of tiny golden algae called haptophytes (HAP toe fites) and the microscopic animals called foraminifera (for AM in IF er ah). These remains sank to the sea ßoor and were compacted layer on layer over millions of years.

Foraminifera, or forams, are tiny creatures belonging to a group of single-celled organisms called protozoa. Forams do not rely on light to produce food. Some forams are able to survive in deeper waters because they feed on other nutrients.

Coccoliths (KO ko liths) are calcium carbonate plates that covered the bodies of the haptophytes. These algae captured energy from sunlight and formed the base of the food web of this shallow sea.