Members of this order form hard tests out of thin calcite rods known as spicules, which are held together by a proteinaceous matrix.

However, life observations of carterinids have failed to find evidence of agglutination, and members of the group have been found to grow on artificial substrates where such spicules were not available from the environment.

[2][3] The spicules of carterinids are formed of low-magnesium calcite and have "blebs" of organic matter within.

This study also found Carterinida to be a distinct group within the Globothalamea, and identified several unnamed "Trochamminids" as likely members of the clade.

[2] Fossils of Carterinids (specifically Carterina) from the Ceara and Potiguar basins off the coast of Brazil date back to the Campanian, and possibly to the Cenomanian.