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 beccarii, showing characteristic coiled shell

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]

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

  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.
  2. 1 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.
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