Based on the analysis of sedimentary ancient DNA, the authors show that Antarctic foraminiferal communities are diverse in open marine environments and significantly less diverse along slopes of submarine moraines. In both cases, DNA analysis reveals a high abundance of soft-walled monothalamids, which are not preserved in the fossil record. No foraminiferal DNA was found in tills, suggesting its destruction during glacial redeposition. A promising new foraminiferal mini-barcode marker is proposed, which merits further validation for application in future paleoecological investigations.