''Vascoceras'' is an extinct genus of
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
ammonites
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) ...
included in the family
Vascoceratidae
The Vascoceratidae is a family of Upper Cretaceous ammonites in the superfamily Acanthoceratoidea characterized by shells that are either smooth or bluntly tuberculate, or have sparse, coarse ribs. Sutural elements are shallow, irregular, and sli ...
. These fast-moving nektonic carnivores lived in the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
period from the late
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
to the early
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...
.
[Sepkoski, Jac]
Sepkoski's Online Genus Database – Cephalopoda
/ref> The type species of the genus is ''Vascoceras gamai''[ from Portugal.
]
Species
The following species of ''Vascoceras'' have been described:[
* ''V. humboldti''
* ''V. olssoni''
* ''V. angermanni''
* ''V. cauvini''
* ''V. hartti''
* ''V. birchbyi''
* ''V. durandi''
* ''V. gamai''
* ''V. proprium''
* ''V. silvanense''
* ''V. venezolanum''
]
Distribution
The type species was first described in Portugal. Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
sediments of Angola, Brazil, Colombia (La Frontera Formation
The La Frontera Formation ( es, Formación La Frontera, K2F, Ksf) is a geological formation, part of the Villeta Group, of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and neighbouring areas of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The sequence of limestones ...
),[Patarroyo, 2016, p.41] Egypt, France, Mexico, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, Tunisia, United States and Venezuela.[
]
References
Bibliography
*
Ammonitida genera
Cretaceous ammonites
Ammonites of Africa
Cretaceous Africa
Ammonites of Europe
Cretaceous Europe
Ammonites of North America
Cretaceous Mexico
Cretaceous United States
Ammonites of South America
Cretaceous Brazil
Cretaceous Colombia
Cretaceous Venezuela
Cenomanian life
Turonian life
Cenomanian genus first appearances
Late Cretaceous extinctions
Fossil taxa described in 1898
{{Ammonite-stub