In Depth Docidoceras is a genus of ammonites that seems to have had a near global distribution in the seas of the mid Jurassic. However despite the widespread distribution of the fossils, most specimens of Docidoceras are at the time of writing known from Alaska. Further Reading - Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part L, Mollusca … Read more
In Depth For lack of a better example, Vampyronassa resembles the extant genus Vampyroteuthis (better known as the vampire squid), save for a longer siphon for the expulsion of water to provide locomotion (also referred to as a hyponome), and a longer mantle (the round body that the arms attach to). Presumably Vampyronassa also had … Read more
In Depth Zemistephanus is a genus of ammonite that lived in the Mid Jurassic seas. Further Reading - Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part L, Mollusca 4, Cephalopoda - Ammonoidea 1-490. - W. J. Arkell, W. M. Furnish, B. Kummel, A. K. Miller, R. C. Moore, O. H. Schindewolf, P. C. Sylvester-Bradley & C. W. Wright … Read more
In Depth Parapuzosia was once named as a species of the Pachydiscus genus in 1895 by Hermann Landois, but was renamed as a distinct genus in 1913 establishing Parapuzosia seppenradensis as the type species. Today the species of the Parapuzosia genus are regarded as the largest ammonites that are currently known to us. The largest … Read more
In Depth Along with Styletoctopus, the description of Keuppia was one of the big discoveries concerning the study of prehistoric cephalopods. Keuppia has the standard eight arms common to all octopuses yet is not yet a modern form. Inside the body there is what is called a gladius, a firm growth that is actually the … Read more
In Depth A primitive Jurassic era cephalopod, Proteroctopus has relatively thin and short arms when compared to the size of the mantle. The small size of the arms suggests that Proteroctopus was probably a pelagic organism that floated around in open water, since the arms were not developed enough to grip and move along the … Read more
In Depth Palaeoctopus was one of the first prehistoric octopuses ever discovered, and since its discovery fossils of octopuses, and cephalopods in general, have proven hard to find because their soft bodies usually decompose long before they have chance to fossilise. Overtime several fossils have been attributed to this genus, though Mexican fossils once added … Read more
In Depth Dating to the Carboniferous period, Pohlsepia is so far one of the oldest known cephalopods. Further Reading Pohlsepia mazonensis, an early ‘octopus’ from the Carboniferous of Illinois, USA, Joanne Kluessendorf & Peter Doyle - 2000.
In Depth Tusoteuthis is a surprisingly little known Mesozoic animal, even though it is potentially one of the largest squids to ever swim in the ocean. Unfortunately the only preserved remains of Tusoteuthis currently known are of the gladius (sometimes called a ‘pen’). The gladius is essentially an internal shell that is a feature also … Read more
In Depth Cameroceras is widely regarded as one of if not the largest orthocone cephalopods to ever exist. Unfortunately only estimates for the upper size of the animal exist. More modern interpretations at the end of the twentieth century estimated the length of the shell at around six meters long, though estimates from earlier in … Read more