Belosaepia

Belosaepia
Temporal range: Eocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: †Belosaepiidae
Genus: †Belosaepia
Species
  • B. ungula Gabb, 1860 (= B. uncinata, B. harrisi, B. alabamensis voltzi Palmer, 1937)[1]
  • B. veatchii Palmer, 1937 (= B. alabamensis Palmer, 1937)[1]
  • B. saccaria Palmer, 1937

Belosaepia, occasionally incorrectly Belosepia,[2] is a genus of cuttlefish-like cephalopod known from the Eocene.[1]

Morphology

Belosaepia reached 18 centimetres (7.1 in) in length and 5 centimetres (2.0 in) across; it had a large siphuncle that penetrated its oblique septa.[1] The shell was endogastrically coiled.[1] It had a small belemnite-like guard, which took the form of a short horn at the posterior end of the shell;[1] usually, only a small portion of the shell closest to the guard is preserved. The chambers in the shell closely resemble those present in the cuttlebone of modern cuttlefish.[1]

Ecology

Belosaepia lived close to the sea floor.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Yancey, T. E.; Garvie, C. L.; Wicksten, M. (2010). "The Middle Eocene Belosaepia ungula (Cephalopoda: Coleoida) from Texas: Structure, Ontogeny and Function" (PDF). Journal of Paleontology. 84 (2): 267–287. doi:10.1666/09-018R.1.
  2. ↑ e.g. "Functional Morphology of the Eocene Coleoid Belosepia".


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.