Endorioceras

Endorioceras Temporal range: Ordovician PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	†Orthocerida
Family:	†Baltoceratidae
Genus:	†Endorioceras Flower (1964)

Endorioceras is an extinct genus of actively mobile carnivorous cephalopod of the family Baltoceratidae that lived in what would be North America during the Ordovician from 490–479 mya, existing for approximately 11 million years.[1]

Taxonomy

Endorioceras was named by Flower (1964). It is not extant. Its type is Endorioceras rarum. It was assigned to Baltoceratidae by Flower (1964); and to Ellesmerocerida by Sepkoski (2002).[2][3]

Morphology

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.

References

1. PaleoBiology Database: Endorioceras, basic info
2. J. J. Sepkoski. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560
3. S. C. Hook and R. H. Flower. 1977. Late Canadian (Zones J, K) cephalopod faunas from Southwestern United States. New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 32:1-56

• Fossils (Smithsonian Handbooks) by David Ward