Soft-shelled foraminiferal image dataset

The data represent an image dataset of monothalamous soft-shelled Foraminifera. Soft-shelled monothalamous foraminifera are poorly known compared to their more robust, hard-shelled, polythalamous (multichambered) relatives, as reflected in the low numbers of described species compared to the much larger number of undescribed morphotypes. They are usually under-represented in traditional, morphology-based studies because their morphological identification is a time-consuming and difficult task. Moreover, their delicate tests are either ignored or not preserved, particularly when sediment residues are dried. In addition, micropaleontologiists are generally not interested in them because that have very low fossilization potential. Despite this, they are abundant and represent a diverse foraminiferal component living in the marine ecosystem particularly in the bathyal and abyssal deep- sea (Table 2 in Gooday et al., 1997) and in high-latitude settings (e.g., Thorson, 1934; Gooday et al., 2006 Svalbard paper). Therefore, the central aim of this dataset is to provide a tool that micropaleontologists and biologists can use to incorporate delicate monothalamids into foraminiferal studies in Arctic settings.