Ammonia (genus)

Ammonia
	Ammonia tepida
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
(unranked):	SAR
(unranked):	Rhizaria
Superphylum:	Retaria
Phylum:	Foraminifera
Order:	Rotaliida
Superfamily:	Rotalioidea
Family:	Rotaliidae
Genus:	Ammonia; Brünnich, 1772
Type species
	Nautilus beccarii; Linnaeus, 1758

Ammonia is a genus of marine foraminifers. It is one of the most abundant foraminifer genera worldwide and occurs in sheltered and shallow marine intertidal environments, sometimes in brackish waters.[1]

Ammonia beccarii, showing characteristic coiled shell

Species

The classification of the genus Ammonia in species is controversial. While several different forms exist, many authors consider the genus to consist of a single species, Ammonia beccarii, with many ecophenotypes. However, recent molecular studies revealed that the genus consists of many species, although they may be difficult to discriminate based on morphology.[2]

Based on a comparison between molecular results and morphology, the following species appear to be valid:

Ammonia aberdoveyensis Haynes, 1973
Ammonia aomoriensis (Asano, 1951)
Ammonia aoteana (Finlay, 1940)
Ammonia batava (Hofker, 1951)
Ammonia beccarii (Linnaeus, 1758)
Ammonia convexa (Collins, 1958)
Ammonia irridescens (Arnal, 1958) (maybe a synonym of A. tepida)
Ammonia limnetes (Todd & Bronnimann, 1957)
Ammonia sobrina (Shupack, 1934)
Ammonia tepida (Cushman, 1926)

Additionally, several other molecular types have been discovered that do not match any of the described species and thus possibly represent new taxa.[2]

References

Walton, W. R.; Sloan, B. J. (1990). "The genus Ammonia Bruennich, 1772; its geographic distribution and morphologic variability". The Journal of Foraminiferal Research. 20 (2): 128–156. doi:10.2113/gsjfr.20.2.128. ISSN 0096-1191.
Hayward, Bruce W.; Holzmann, Maria; Grenfell, Hugh R.; Pawlowski, Jan; Triggs, Chris M. (2004). "Morphological distinction of molecular types in Ammonia – towards a taxonomic revision of the world's most commonly misidentified foraminifera". Marine Micropaleontology. 50 (3–4): 237–271. doi:10.1016/S0377-8398(03)00074-4. ISSN 0377-8398.

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[Walton1990-1] Walton, W. R.; Sloan, B. J. (1990). "The genus Ammonia Bruennich, 1772; its geographic distribution and morphologic variability". The Journal of Foraminiferal Research. 20 (2): 128–156. doi:10.2113/gsjfr.20.2.128. ISSN 0096-1191.

[Hayward2004-2] Hayward, Bruce W.; Holzmann, Maria; Grenfell, Hugh R.; Pawlowski, Jan; Triggs, Chris M. (2004). "Morphological distinction of molecular types in Ammonia – towards a taxonomic revision of the world's most commonly misidentified foraminifera". Marine Micropaleontology. 50 (3–4): 237–271. doi:10.1016/S0377-8398(03)00074-4. ISSN 0377-8398.