Foraminifera in continental deposits.

The origin of Foraminifera found in continental deposits and endoreic sheets of water poses a problem. This paper presents an inventory of the Foraminifera observed in ancient and recent continental deposits throughout the world. The ecological study of these Foraminifera leads to the differentiation of three groups related to different environments. The first group is indicative of a transitional environment between the margino-littoral area and the continental waters; the second is strictly bound to the margino-littoral biotope; and the third is marine, with a few species capable of tolerating a variable salinity. The presence of some Foraminifera of the last group in the endoreic environments is discussed and leads to the hypothesis that their setting is due solely to a marine transgression or to reworking; this sets in a new light the paleoecological interpretation of some marine foraminifera fossilized in continental deposits.