''Acanthinites'' is a genus of extinct

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...

s belonging to the

ammonoid 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) ...

order

Ceratitida Ceratitida is an order that contains almost all ammonoid cephalopod genera from the Triassic as well as ancestral forms from the Upper Permian, the exception being the phylloceratids which gave rise to the great diversity of post Triassic ammoni ...

described by Mojsisovics in 1893 who established the type species of the group as ''Acanthinites excelsus''. The Shell is involute, compressed; sides arched, converging on narrow venter with a central furrow bordered by low serrated keels. Flanks are covered by numerous spiral rows of tubercles. ''Acanthinites'' has been found in the Alps, Himalayas, and Timor, and in the case of ''A. magnificus''

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in western Canada. Its fossils are found in the

Norian The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age (geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian. Stratigraphic defi ...

stage of the Triassic Period, which lasted from about 216.5 to 203.6 million years ago. ''Acanthinites'' was previously included in the Certopleuitidae of the

Clydonitaceae Clydonitoidea, formerly Clydonitaceae, is a superfamily in the ammonoid cephalopod order Ceratitida characterized by generally costate and turberculate shells with smooth, grooved, or keeled venters and sutures that are commonly ceratitic or ammon ...

but now in the closely related Tibetitidae with certopleutids reduced to an included subfamily. Related genera include '' Cyrtopleurites'', and '' Himavites''.

References

* W.J. Arkell, et al., 1957. Mesozoic Ammonoidea, Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology Part L, Ammonoidea. University of Kansas Press.
Acantnites
in Fossilworks 1/4/15. Late Triassic ammonites Ceratitida genera Fossils of British Columbia Prehistoric cephalopod genera Fossil taxa described in 1893 {{Ceratitida-stub