Test (biology)

In biology, a test is the hard shell of some spherical marine animals, notably sea urchins and microorganisms such as testate foraminiferans, radiolarians, and testate amoebae.

The anatomical term "test" derives from the Latin testa (which means a rounded bowl, amphora or bottle). It is distinct from the term "test" as in "examination", which derives from testis, related to the idea of testimony.

The test is a skeletal structure, made of hard material such as calcium carbonate, silica, chitin or composite materials. As such, it allows the protection of the internal organs and the attachment of soft flesh.

The test of sea urchins is made of calcium carbonate, strengthened by a framework of calcite monocrystals, in a characteristic "stereomic" structure. These two ingredients provide sea urchins with a great solidity and a moderate weight, as well as the capacity to regenerate the mesh from the cuticle. According to a 2012 study, the skeletal structures of sea urchins consist in "92% of bricks of calcite monocrystals (conferring solidity and hardness) and 8 % of a "mortar" of amorphous lime (allowing flexibility and lightness). This lime is constituted itself of 99.9% of calcium carbonate, with 0.1% structural proteins, which make sea urchins animals with an extremely mineralized skeleton (which also explains their excellent conservation as fossils).

The test of foraminiferan initially consists of gradually mineralized organic matter, but also sometimes exogenous agglomerated particles (in particular for species living in the sediment or in great depth). It can be of many types, like agglutinated (exogenous agglomerate), microgranular (with calcite grains), porcelain-like (smooth calcite) or hyalin (lens). Foraminiferans develops by building new rooms in their test. These are arranged according to a geometry particular to each species: they can be rectilinear, curved, rolled up or cyclic, and every time uniserial or multiserial. These organizational types can also be mixed, or even more complex. Miliolids have a particular arrangement. The surface of the test can be smooth or textured.

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