ammonia tepida ammonia tepida ammonia tepida is a benthic foraminifer living in the sediment of brackish waters. it is very similar to ammonia beccarii, but the latter lives on the surface of red algae. once considered a globally widespread taxon, a recent genetic and morphological study has revealed that many of what were once considered members of a. tepida in fact represent other species of ammonia, primarily ammonia veneta, with true specimens of a. tepida only being found in atlantic waters, off the coast of the americas. ammonia tepidatemporal range: m cretaceous - recent live ammonia veneta, the globally distributed species formerly misidentified as a. tepida. scientific classification domain: eukaryota (unranked): sar (unranked): rhizaria superphylum: retaria phylum: foraminifera order: rotaliida superfamily: rotalioidea family: rotaliidae genus: ammonia species: a. tepida binomial name ammonia tepidacushman, 1926 synonyms ammonia beccarii var. tepida cushman, 1926 rotalia beccarii var. tepida cushman, 1926 streblus beccarii var. tepida (cushman, 1926) ecology ammonia tepida is found in the sediment of brackish waters. it is able to tolerate a wide range of temperatures and degrees of salinity, as well as to survive severe environmental conditions. as it is easy to keep in the laboratory, being able to reproduce both asexually and sexually without problem, it considered an ideal organism for laboratory studies. the diet of a. tepida consists mainly of other microorganisms. algae form about 80–90% of its diet and the remaining is composed by bacteria. laboratory experiments showed that it may also prey on small animals, such as nematodes, copepods and mollusk larvae.