Narthecoceratidae

Narthecoceratidae Temporal range: Ordovician
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Subclass:	Orthoceratoidea
Order:	Orthocerida Sepkoski (2002)
Genus:	Narthecoceratidae Flower (1958)

Narthecoceratidae is an extinct genus of actively mobile carnivorous cephalapod, essentially a Nautiloid, that lived in what would be North America during the Ordovician from 460.5—449 mya, existing for approximately 11.5 million years.^[1]

Taxonomy

Narthecoceratidae was named by Flower (1958). It was assigned to Endocerida by Teichert et al. (1964); and to Orthocerida by Frey (1981).^[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.

Fossil distribution

Fossil distribution includes Ohio, Franklin District, Canada, and Manitoba, Canada.

References

1. ^ PaleoBiology Database: Narthecoceratidae, basic info
2. ^ C. Teichert, B. Kummel, W.C. Sweet, H.B. Stenzel, W.M. Furnish, B.F. Glenister, H.K. Erben, R.C. Moore, and D.E. Nodine Zeller. 1964. Cephalopoda - general features - Endoceratoidea - Actinoceratoidea - Nautiloidea - Bactritoidea. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology K(3):1-519
3. ^ R. C. Frey. 1981. Narthecoceras (Cephalopoda) from the Upper Ordovician (Richmondian) of Southwest Ohio. Journal of Paleontology 55(6):1217-1224

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