Murchisoniceras

Murchisoniceras
Temporal range: Silurian
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Cephalopoda
Subclass:
Nautiloidea
Order:
Orthocerida
Genus:
Murchisoniceras

Babin, 1966
Species
  • see text

Murchisoniceras is an extinct genus of cephalopod Nautiloid, that lived during the Silurian from 425 to 416 mya, in what would be Europe, existing for approximately 9 million years.[1]

Taxonomy

Murchisoniceras was named by Babin in 1966 [2] and is commonly assigned to the Orthocerida;[3] sometimes as Insertae sedis[4]

Ivan Kolebaba, 2002,[5] included Murchisoniceras in the Palliocerida, an order of orthoconic nautiloids established by Marek, 1998, for those with incomplete connecting rings and suggestions of cameral mantle, along with other similar genera.

Morphology

The shell of Murchisoniceras is generally long and straight (orthoconic). Chambers have organic deposits of calcite which provide counterbalance. Connecting rings in the siphuncle are incomplete. In life, these animals may have been similar to the modern squid, except for the long shell.

Fossil distribution

Murchisoniceras is known from central Europe, Czech Republic, Bohemia.

References

  1. ^ Murchisoniceras, basic info
  2. ^ Nomen Zool genera
  3. ^ Sepkoski's list of Cephalopod genera, online results
  4. ^ Murchizoniceras in Biolib
  5. ^ Ivan Kolebaba, A Contribution to the theory of the cameral mantle in some Silurian Nautiloidea (Mollusca, Cephalopoda). Bulletin of the Czech Geological Survey, Vol 77, NO 3, 1830186, 2002.[1]