''Cenoceras'' is an extinct genus within the

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 ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Nautilidae 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 t ...

, which in turn makes up part of the superfamily

Nautilaceae The Nautilaceae form one of five superfamilies that make up the Nautilida according to Bernard Kummel (1964), and the only one that survived past the Triassic. The Nautilaceae comprise six families: Nautilidae, Paracenoceratidae, Pseudonautilidae ...

. This genus has been described by Hyatt in 1884. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''Cenoceras intermedium'' (Sowerby).

Species

*''

Cenoceras boreale ''Cenoceras'' is an extinct genus within the cephalopod mollusc family Nautilidae, which in turn makes up part of the superfamily Nautilaceae. This genus has been described by Hyatt in 1884. The type species is ''Cenoceras intermedium'' (Sowerby) ...

'' † Dagys and Sobolev 1988 *'' Cenoceras trechmanni'' † Kummel 1953

Description

Shells of these nektonic carnivores are variable in form, depending on species; ranges from evolute to involute, compressed lenticular to globose with rounded to flattened venter and flanks. The suture generally has shallow ventral and lateral lobes. The location of the

siphuncle The siphuncle is a strand of tissue passing longitudinally through the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. Only cephalopods with chambered shells have siphuncles, such as the extinct ammonites and belemnites, and the living nautiluses, cuttlefish, and ...

is variable, but never at an extreme ventral or dorsal position (Kümmel 1964, K449).

Fossil range

''Cenoceras'' has a fossil range from the

Upper Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. Th ...

Carnian The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series (or earliest age of the Late Triassic Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by t ...

age to the

Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations co ...

Callovian In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 166.1 ± 4.0 Ma (million years ago) and 163.5 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the ...

age (from 235.0 to 163.5 Ma).The Paleobiology Database
/ref>Sepkoski, Jac
Sepkoski's Online Genus Database – Cephalopoda
/ref>

References

* Kümmel, B. 1964, Nauiloidea-Nautilida, in The Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part K, Nautiloidea; Geological Society of America and University of Kansas Press. * Cyril Walker & David Ward (1993) - Fossielen: Sesam Natuur Handboeken, Bosch & Keuning, Baarn.

External links

Prehistoric nautiloid genera Late Triassic first appearances Middle Jurassic extinctions Prehistoric cephalopods of Europe {{paleo-Nautiloidea-stub