Scaphites: Difference between revisions

Scaphites
	Scaphites sp. from Colorado; Specimen is 2.8 cm from top to bottom
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Subclass:	Ammonoidea
Order:	Ammonitida
Suborder:	Ancyloceratina
Genus:	Scaphites; Parkinson, 1811
Species
	See text.

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Revision as of 11:03, 14 January 2007

Scaphites (Greek skafh, "a boat or anything dug or scooped out") is a genus of extinct cephalopod belonging to the family of heteromorph ammonites (suborder Ancyloceratina). They were a widespread genus that thrived during the Cretaceous period.

Scaphites generally have a chambered, boat-shaped shell. The initial part (juvenile stage) of the shell is generally more or less involute (tightly-coiled) and compressed, giving no hint of the heteromorphic shell form yet to come. The terminal part (adult stage) is much shorter, erect, and bends over the older shell like a hook. They have transverse, branching ribs with tubercles (small bumps) along the venter.

Reconstructions of the body within the shell can be made to portray Scaphites as either a benthic (bottom-dwelling) or planktonic animal, depending on where the center of gravity is located. Since useful fossils of the soft-body parts of cephalopods are highly rare, little is known about how this animal actually fit into its shell and lived its life.

Because Scaphites and its relatives in Superfamily Scaphitaceae are restricted to certain divisions of the Cretaceous (ca. 144 to 66.4 million years ago), they are useful in some areas as an index fossil. A notable example is the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway in North America, in which several endemic lineages of scaphite species evolved and now serve as the basis for a highly resolved regional biostratigraphy.

Species

Scaphites binneyi † Reeside 1927a
Scaphites carlilensis † Morrow 1935
Scaphites depressus † Reeside 1927a
Scaphites ferronensis † Cobban, 1951b
Scaphites frontierensis † Cobban 1951b
Scaphites hippocrepis † (DeKay) 1827
Scaphites impendicostatus † Cobban 1951b
Scaphites leei † Reeside 1927b
Scaphites nanus † Reeside 1927b
Scaphites nodosus †
Scaphites obliquus † J. Sowerby 1813
Scaphites preventricosus † Cobban 1951b
Scaphites tetonensis † Cobban 1951b
Scaphites uintensis † Cobban 1951b
Scaphites warreni † Meek and Hayden 1860
Scaphites whitfieldi † Cobban 1951b

References and external links

This paleontology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | image = SmallScaphites.jpg
 | image_width = 230px
-| image_caption = ''Scaphites'' sp. from Colorado<br> Specimen is 2.8 cm from top to bottom
+| image_caption = ''Scaphites'' sp. from Colorado<br>Specimen is 2.8 cm from top to bottom
 | regnum = [[Animal]]ia
 | phylum = [[Mollusca]]
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 | genus_authority = [[James Parkinson|Parkinson]], 1811
 | subdivision_ranks = Species
-| subdivision =
+| subdivision = See text.
-all extinct, <br>
-see text
 }}
@@ Line 28: / Line 26: @@
 ==Species==
-''Scaphites binneyi'' [[John B. Reeside|Reeside]] 1927a<br>
+* ''Scaphites binneyi'' &dagger; <small>[[John B. Reeside|Reeside]] 1927a</small>
-''Scaphites carlilensis'' [[Aubrey Lyndon Morrow|Morrow]] 1935<br>
+* ''Scaphites carlilensis'' &dagger; <small>[[Aubrey Lyndon Morrow|Morrow]] 1935</small>
-''Scaphites depressus'' Reeside 1927a<br>
+* ''Scaphites depressus'' &dagger; <small>Reeside 1927a</small>
-''Scaphites ferronensis'' [[William A. Cobban|Cobban]], 1951b<br>
+* ''Scaphites ferronensis'' &dagger; <small>[[William A. Cobban|Cobban]], 1951b</small>
-''Scaphites frontierensis'' Cobban 1951b<br>
+* ''Scaphites frontierensis'' &dagger; <small>Cobban 1951b</small>
-''Scaphites hippocrepis'' ([[James Ellsworth De Kay|DeKay]]) 1827<br>
+* ''Scaphites hippocrepis'' &dagger; <small>([[James Ellsworth De Kay|DeKay]]) 1827</small>
-''Scaphites impendicostatus'' Cobban 1951b<br>
+* ''Scaphites impendicostatus'' &dagger; <small>Cobban 1951b</small>
-''Scaphites leei'' Reeside 1927b<br>
+* ''Scaphites leei'' &dagger; <small>Reeside 1927b</small>
-''Scaphites nanus'' Reeside 1927b<br>
+* ''Scaphites nanus'' &dagger; <small>Reeside 1927b</small>
-''Scaphites nodosus''<br>
+* ''Scaphites nodosus'' &dagger;
-''Scaphites obliquus'' [[James Sowerby|J. Sowerby]] 1813<br>
+* ''Scaphites obliquus'' &dagger; <small>[[James Sowerby|J. Sowerby]] 1813</small>
-''Scaphites preventricosus'' Cobban 1951b<br>
+* ''Scaphites preventricosus'' &dagger; <small>Cobban 1951b</small>
-''Scaphites tetonensis'' Cobban 1951b<br>
+* ''Scaphites tetonensis'' &dagger; <small>Cobban 1951b</small>
-''Scaphites uintensis'' Cobban 1951b<br>
+* ''Scaphites uintensis'' &dagger; <small>Cobban 1951b</small>
-''Scaphites warreni'' [[Fielding Bradford Meek|Meek]] and [[Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden|Hayden]] 1860<br>
+* ''Scaphites warreni'' &dagger; <small>[[Fielding Bradford Meek|Meek]] and [[Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden|Hayden]] 1860</small>
-''Scaphites whitfieldi'' Cobban 1951b
+* ''Scaphites whitfieldi'' &dagger; <small>Cobban 1951b</small>
 ==References and external links==
@@ Line 49: / Line 47: @@
 * [http://www.ammonoid.com/Scaphites.htm Ammonite.com]
 * [http://www.ammonoid.com/ufc-Strat.htm A Biostratigraphic List of Fossil Cephalopods in Utah]
+[[Category:Extinct cephalopods]]
+[[Category:Cretaceous animals]]
 {{paleo-stub}}
 {{cephalopod-stub}}
 {{mollusc-stub}}
-[[Category:Extinct cephalopods]]
-[[Category:Cretaceous animals]]