Aturiidae
Encyclopedia
The Aturiidae constitutes a family of Paleocene
to Miocene
nautilids
, established by Campman in 1857 for Aturia Bronn, 1838, and are included in the superfamily Nautilaceae
in Kümmel 1964.
Aturia, and the Atiriidae, is characterized by a smooth, highly involute, discoidal shell with a complex suture
and subdorsal siphuncle
. The shell of Aturia is rounded ventrally and flattened laterally; the dorsum is deeply inpressed. The suture, one of the most complex in the Nautiloidea, has a broad flattened ventral saddle, narrow pointed lateral lobes, broad rounded lateral saddles, broad lobes on the dorso-umbilical slopes, and a broad dorsal saddle divided by a deep, narrow median lobe. The siphuncle is moderate in size and located subdorsally in the adapical dorsal flexture of the septum. Aturia most likely preyed upon small fish and crustaceans in the open waters of the prehistoric times.
Aturia is likely derived from Aturoidea
of the Hercoglossidae
and is fairly cosmopolitan. As with the other offshoots from the Nautilidae, Aturia has no modern equivalents.
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
to Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
nautilids
Nautilida
The Nautilida constitute a large and diverse order of generally coiled nautiloid cephalopods that began in the mid Paleozoic and continues to the present with a single family, the Nautilidae which includes two genera, Nautilus and Allonautilus, with six species...
, established by Campman in 1857 for Aturia Bronn, 1838, and are included in the superfamily Nautilaceae
Nautilaceae
The Nautilaceae is one of five superfamilies that make up the Nautilida according to Bernard Kummel , and the only one that survived past the Triassic. The Nautilaceae comprise six families: Nautilidae, Paracenoceratidae, Pseudonautilidae, Cymatoceratidae, Hercoglossidae, and Aturiidae...
in Kümmel 1964.
Aturia, and the Atiriidae, is characterized by a smooth, highly involute, discoidal shell with a complex suture
Suture
Surgical suture is a medical device used to hold body tissues together after an injury or surgery. It generally consists of a needle with an attached length of thread. A number of different shapes, sizes, and thread materials have been developed over its millennia of history.-History:Through many...
and subdorsal siphuncle
Siphuncle
The siphuncle is a strand of tissue passing longitudinally through the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. Only cephalopods with chambered shells have siphuncles, such as the extinct ammonites and belemnites, and the living nautiluses, cuttlefish, and Spirula...
. The shell of Aturia is rounded ventrally and flattened laterally; the dorsum is deeply inpressed. The suture, one of the most complex in the Nautiloidea, has a broad flattened ventral saddle, narrow pointed lateral lobes, broad rounded lateral saddles, broad lobes on the dorso-umbilical slopes, and a broad dorsal saddle divided by a deep, narrow median lobe. The siphuncle is moderate in size and located subdorsally in the adapical dorsal flexture of the septum. Aturia most likely preyed upon small fish and crustaceans in the open waters of the prehistoric times.
Aturia is likely derived from Aturoidea
Hercoglossidae
Hercoglossidae was established by Spath in 1927 for smooth, involute nautiloids characterized by a suture with differentiated elements, known from the Upper Jurassic to the Oligocene. Hercoglossids make up part of the Nautilid superfamily Nautilaceae. Four genera are described in the Treatise...
of the Hercoglossidae
Hercoglossidae
Hercoglossidae was established by Spath in 1927 for smooth, involute nautiloids characterized by a suture with differentiated elements, known from the Upper Jurassic to the Oligocene. Hercoglossids make up part of the Nautilid superfamily Nautilaceae. Four genera are described in the Treatise...
and is fairly cosmopolitan. As with the other offshoots from the Nautilidae, Aturia has no modern equivalents.