• Fossil Cephalopod, Orthoceras •
(Alabama)

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• Fossil Cephalopod, Orthoceras •
(Alabama)

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Extinct specie of the squid-like animal "Orthoceras", a member of the Cephalopod family. Found in Alabama. Very close relative of the ammonites. The orthoceras had a straight shell and the ammonites had a coiled shell. As the animal grew it continued to add onto it's shell. Ammonite fossils have been discovered up to nearly six-feet in diameter and orthoceras fossils are believed to have grown up to nearly 14 feet in length.

The orthoceras was a mollusk that lived from about 400 million years ago. The site where these fossils were found is believed to date back to the Mississippian age: 325 to 365 million years old. The living relatives of these sea animals are squids, octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus. As are the living relatives today, this extinct cephalopod hunted and ate a variety of other sea animals including other mollusk and trilobites.

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The siphuncle is a tube that runs the entire length of the shell, through each of the chambers. This tube had two functions. Once filled with water, the nautiloid could force the water out, propelling itself backward with a kind of jet propulsion. By releasing the water and leaving air space, the tube could serve as a bouyancy device allowing the animal to rise and lower itself to different depths.

Orthoceras fossils are the remains of an invertebrate, no backbone, that belongs to the Phylum Mollusca. This is a broad grouping of animals that include snails, slugs, oysters, clams, octopus, and squid. The phylum is broken down into classes. Orthoceras belongs to the class Cephalopoda. Other living members of this class are octopus, squid, and the chambered nautilus. The name cephalopoda means head foot referring to the fact that their tentacles or feet grow out of their heads. The subclass of orthoceras is Nautiloidea.

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