Turrilitidae

Turrilitidae Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Fossil of Mariella lewesiensis from Japan. Late Cretaceous. Exhibit in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Subclass:	†Ammonoidea
Order:	†Ammonitida
Suborder:	†Ancyloceratina
Superfamily:	†Turrilitoidea
Family:	†Turrilitidae Meek, 1876
Type genus
Turrilites Lamarck, 1801
Genera
Mariella Notostreptites Ostlingoceras Pseudhelicoceras Tridenticeras Turrilites

Turrilitidae is a family of extinct heteromorph ammonite cephalopods. All members had shells that coiled helically that tended to resemble auger shells. The ecological roles turrilitids played is largely unknown, as experts are still speculating what niches they filled. Some are suspected of floating in the water column, while others, such as the eponymous Turrilites, are believed to have been bottom-dwellers. The name of the type genus Turrilites is a hybrid formation based on Latin turris "tower" and Greek lithos "stone", coined by Lamarck in 1801.

Although they were diverse, with a worldwide distribution, the turrilitids, along with all other ammonites, did not survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

References

• The Paleobiology Database Accessed on 9/24/07