Macroscaphitidae

Macroscaphitidae
Temporal range: 130–93.5 Ma Lower Barremian – Lower Cenomanian
Specimen of Macroscaphites yuani Meek 1876, from the Aptian (Early Cretaceous), Malenowit, Friedek, Schlesien.[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Cephalopoda
Subclass:
†Ammonoidea
Superfamily:
†Ptychoceratoidea
Family:
†Macroscaphitidae

Hyatt, 1900
Type genus
†Macroscaphites (Macroscaphites)
Meek, 1876
Subgenera
  • †Macroscaphites (Macroscaphites) Meek, 1876
  • †Macroscaphites (Costidiscus) Uhlig, 1883

Macroscaphitidae[2] (Greek μακρός, long and σκάφος, boat) is an extinct family of ptychoceratoid cephalopods from the subclass Ammonoidea that lived from the Lower Barremian to the Lower Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous. Fossils of Macroscaphitidae were found all around the world although the abundance of found fossils is rather limited. Known fossils from collections were found largely in Europe (e.g. Italy, France, Czech Republic), South America (Mexico, Venezuela) and Africa (e.g. Mozambique).[3] It is known for some species of which complete specimens were found that these animals developed a hetermorphic shell, i.e. the coiling of the shell was not regular, such that the first whirls formed a planispirally coiled evolute section as seen in homomorphic ammonites, but had an additional straight middle part and a presumably upwards facing aperture. Due to their odd morphology the taxonomic classification of Macroscaphitidae changed often over time since their discovery and may not be finally settled even now.

  1. ^ Gall, Larry (2022). "Invertebrate Paleontology Division, Yale Peabody Museum". Yale University Peabody Museum. doi:10.15468/nqheui. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ "Macroscaphitidae". GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (Checklist dataset). GBIF. doi:10.15468/39omei. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  3. ^ "Macroscaphitidae in The Paleobiology Database". Global Biodiversity Information Facility (database query result). 2022.