CMNH, 2937, Gomphoceras eximium Hall3D Model
CMNH 2937, Gomphoceras eximium Hall
Age: Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Rock unit: Columbus Limestone
Locality: Smith and Price Quarry, Columbus, Franklin Co., OH
Collector: the Hyatt brothers (Edward and Harry)
Cephalopods are extant (living) 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 2 species of Nautilus maintain the coiled shell (David and Mapes. 1996. “Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda”). Length of this nautiloid specimen: 20.5 cm.
Image by Jacob Kordeleski, CMNH Dept of Archaeology // Hawken School
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