CMNH 11827, Ceratites depressus Philippi3D Model
CMNH 11827, Ceratites depressus Philippi
Age: Middle Triassic Rock unit: Muschelkalk Formation Locality: Reiffenhausen, Germany
Donor: Case Western Reserve University geology dept.; originally part of the Case Institute of Technology collection. Cephalopods are extant marine mollusks characterized by tentacles attached to a cone-shaped body. The name cephalopod comes directly from the Greek kephalopoda, “head-feet.” Most fossil cephalopods formed a calcareous shell around their conical body. The shell may be straight, curved, or coiled. As the cephalopod grows, the shell is sectioned and sealed into increasingly large chambers, with the cephalopod remaining connected by soft tissue in a thin tube called the siphuncle. Many cephalopods live today, including cuttlefish, squid, and octopus, but only the nautilus maintains the coiled shell (David and Mapes 1996, “Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda”). This ammonite’s diameter: 7.5 cm.
Image by Jacob Kordeleski, CMNH Dept of Archaeology // Hawken School
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