Platyceras

Platyceras; Temporal range: Silurian-Middle Triassic; ~439–221 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Platyceras pulcherrimum from the Logan Formation (Mississippian) of Wooster, Ohio)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Neritimorpha
Superfamily:	Platyceratoidea
Family:	Platyceratidae
Genus:	Platyceras; Conrad, 1840
Synonyms
	Acroculia Phillips 1841; Actita Fahrenkohl 1844;

Platyceras is a genus of extinct Paleozoic sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Platyceratidae. This genus is known from the Silurian to the Middle Triassic periods and especially abundant in the Devonian and Carboniferous.^[1] It is the type genus of the family Platyceratidae.

Description

Platyceras has a distinctive shape that is easily recognized. The cap-like shell is high and broad anteriorly. The posterior portion of the shell, at the apex, is usually slightly coiled in an asymmetrical fashion. Frequently, the front portions of the shells are broken, though the posterior sections are relatively well preserved. Platyceras is particularly abundant in Devonian deposits (359 million to 416 million years old).^[1] Platyceras and other platyceratid gastropods are known for the complex symbiotic relationships they had with crinoids.^[2]

Distribution

Fossils of Platyceras have been found all over the world,^[1] among others in the Floresta Formation of Boyacá, Colombia.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Paleobiology Database. Platyceras at Fossilworks.org
^ Baumiller T. K. (2003). "Evaluating the interaction between platyceratid gastropods and crinoids; a cost-benefit approach". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 201(3-4): 199-209. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(03)00625-4.
^ Mojica & Villarroel, 1984, pp.65-69

T. A. Conrad. 1840. Third annual report on the palaeontological department of the survey. New York Geological Survey, Annual Report 4(1):199-207

Bibliography

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[PBD-1] Paleobiology Database. Platyceras at Fossilworks.org

[2] Baumiller T. K. (2003). "Evaluating the interaction between platyceratid gastropods and crinoids; a cost-benefit approach". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 201(3-4): 199-209. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(03)00625-4.

[Mojica-3] Mojica & Villarroel, 1984, pp.65-69

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