The Brevicoceratidae is a family of
oncocerids that contains genera characterized by exogastric (or rarely endogastric) gyrocones, brevicones, and torticones.
that tend to develop vestigial actinosiphonate deposits and subtriangular transverse sections. The Brevicoceratidae are derived from ''Oonoceras'' (Oncoceratidae) and range from the mid-
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
to the
Upper Devonian.
Brevicoceratidae is named for the Middle Devonian genus, ''
Brevicoceras'', from North America.
All told there are some 17 named genera. The family begins with ''
Oxygonioceras'' in the Middle Silurian,
sole recognized representative of that time, and reaches its greatest diversity with 12 genera in the Middle Devonian.
The Brevicoceratidae are reduced to four genera in the Upper Devonian, when they become extinct.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4962558
Prehistoric nautiloid families
Silurian first appearances
Late Devonian animals
Late Devonian extinctions