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Aulacocerida
Aulacocerida is an order of primitive coleoid cephalopods, possibly derived from michelinoceraitids ( Orthocerida) early in the Devonian, which in turn gave rise to the Belemnites. Aulococerids are characterized by a straight, slim, conical shell with a large living chamber, simple aperture. The protoconch (initial, embryonic chamber) is egg-shaped and separated from the phragnocone by a constriction. The siphucle is narrow and ventral, constricted at the septa and expanded in the middle of the chamber; necks are retrochoantiic, project backwards toward the apex. Nacre recovered from aulococerids as well as from belemnites resembles that found in recent ''Sepia'' and ''Spirula'' but differs from that of recent ''Nautilus''. Opinions vary as to whether aulococerids were endocochleate, having internal shells as with modern squid, or were ectocochleate, having external shells as with nautilods and ammonites. Naef (in Bandel 1985) thought of aulacocerids as slender squids that lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthocerida
Orthocerida is an order of extinct Orthoceratoid cephalopods also known as the Michelinocerida that lived from the Early Ordovician () possibly to the Late Triassic (). A fossil found in the Caucasus suggests they may even have survived until the Early Cretaceous (). They were most common however from the Ordovician to the Devonian. Shell form The shell is usually long, and may be straight ("orthoconic") or gently curved. In life, these animals may have been similar to the modern squid, except for the long shell. The internal structure of the shell consists of concavo-convex chambers linked by a centrally-placed tube called a siphuncle. There is a tendency for the chambers to develop cameral deposits, which were used as ballast to balance the long gas-filled shell. Depending on the family, the siphuncle has orthochoanitic (short and straight) or cyrtochoanitic (outwardly curved) septal necks, which protrude from the septa. The shell surface may be (depending on the specie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nacre
Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is found in some of the most ancient lineages of bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods. However, the inner layer in the great majority of mollusc shells is porcellaneous, not nacreous, and this usually results in a non-iridescent shine, or more rarely in non-nacreous iridescence such as ''flame structure'' as is found in conch pearls. The outer layer of cultured pearls and the inside layer of pearl oyster and freshwater pearl mussel shells are made of nacre. Other mollusc families that have a nacreous inner shell layer include marine gastropods such as the Haliotidae, the Trochidae and the Turbinidae. Physical characteristics Structure and appearance Nacre is composed of hexagonal platelets of aragonite (a form of calcium carbonate) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sepia (genus)
''Sepia'' is a genus of cuttlefish in the family (biology), family Sepiidae encompassing some of the best known and most common species. The cuttlebone is relatively ellipsoid in shape. The name of the genus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek , ''sēpía'', cuttlefish. Classification *Genus ''Sepia'' **Subgenus undetermined ***? ''Sepia bartletti'' ***? ''Sepia baxteri'' * ***? ''Sepia dannevigi'' * ***? ''Sepia elliptica'', ovalbone cuttlefish ***''Sepia filibrachia'' ***''Sepia mira'' ***''Sepia plana'' ***''Sepia senta'' ***''Sepia subplana'' ***? ''Sepia whitleyana'', Whitley's cuttlefish **Subgenus ''Acanthosepion'' ***''Sepia aculeata'', needle cuttlefish ***''Sepia brevimana'', shortclub cutttlefish ***''Sepia esculenta'', golden cuttlefish ***''Sepia lycidas'', kisslip cuttlefish ***''Sepia prashadi'', hooded cuttlefish ***''Sepia orbignyana'', pink cuttlefish ***''Sepia recurvirostra'', curvespine cuttlefish ***''Sepia savignyi'', broadback cuttlefish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spirula
''Spirula spirula'' is a species of deep-water squid-like cephalopod mollusc, mollusk. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Spirula'', the Family (biology), family Spirulidae, and the order (biology), order Spirulida. Because of the shape of its internal shell, it is commonly known as the ram's horn squid or the little post horn squid. Because the live animal has a light-emitting organ, it is also sometimes known as the tail-light squid. Live specimens of this cephalopod are very rarely seen because it is a deep-ocean dweller. The small internal shell of the species is, however, quite a familiar object to many beachcombing, beachcombers. The shell of ''Spirula'' is extremely light in weight, very buoyant, and surprisingly durable; it very commonly floats ashore onto tropical beaches (and sometimes even temperate beaches) all over the world. This seashell is known to Conchology, shell collectors as the ram's horn shell or simply as ''Spirula''. Description ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nautilus
The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in two genera, the type of which is the genus ''Nautilus''. Though it more specifically refers to species ''Nautilus pompilius'', the name chambered nautilus is also used for any of the Nautilidae. All are protected under CITES Appendix II. Depending on species, adult shell diameter is between 4 and 10 inches. Nautilidae, both extant and extinct, are characterized by involute or more or less convolute shells that are generally smooth, with compressed or depressed whorl sections, straight to sinuous sutures, and a tubular, generally central siphuncle.Kümmel, B. 1964. Nautiloidae-Nautilida, in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Geological Society of America and Univ of Kansas Press, Teichert and Moore eds. Having survived relatively u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squid
True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting these criteria. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, and a mantle. They are mainly soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius (cephalopod), gladius or pen, made of chitin. Squid diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar role to teleost fish as open water predators of similar size and behaviour. They play an important role in the open water food web. The two long tentacles are used to grab prey and the eight arms to hold and control it. The beak then cuts the food into suitable size chunks for swallowing. Squid are rapid swimmers, moving by Aquatic locomotion#Jet propulsion, jet propulsion, and largely locate their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nautiloidea
Nautiloids are a group of marine cephalopods (Mollusca) which originated in the Late Cambrian and are represented today by the living ''Nautilus'' and ''Allonautilus''. Fossil nautiloids are diverse and speciose, with over 2,500 recorded species. They flourished during the early Paleozoic era, when they constituted the main predatory animals. Early in their evolution, nautiloids developed an extraordinary diversity of shell shapes, including coiled morphologies and giant straight-shelled forms ( orthocones). Only a handful of rare coiled species, the nautiluses, survive to the present day. In a broad sense, "nautiloid" refers to a major cephalopod subclass or collection of subclasses (Nautiloidea ''sensu lato''). Nautiloids are typically considered one of three main groups of cephalopods, along with the extinct ammonoids (ammonites) and living coleoids (such as squid, octopus, and kin). While ammonoids and coleoids are monophyletic clades with exclusive ancestor-descendant rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammonoidea
Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) than they are to shelled nautiloids such as the living ''Nautilus'' species. The earliest ammonites appeared during the Devonian, with the last species vanishing during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Ammonites are excellent index fossils, and linking the rock layer in which a particular species or genus is found to specific geologic time periods is often possible. Their fossil shells usually take the form of planispirals, although some helically spiraled and nonspiraled forms (known as heteromorphs) have been found. The name "ammonite", from which the scientific term is derived, was inspired by the spiral shape of their fossilized shells, which somewhat resemble tightly coiled rams' horns. Pliny the Elder ( 79 AD nea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Belemnites
This list of belemnite genera is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the extinct subclass Belemnoidea, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, as well as genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (''nomina dubia''), or were not formally published (''nomina nuda''), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered belemites. Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature as indicated. The list currently contains 100 generic names. List of belemnites See also * Belemnoidea * List of ammonites * List of nautiloids This list of nautiloids is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the subclass Nautiloidea, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered in ... References :''Unc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Cephalopod Orders
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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