The Orthocerataceae is a superfamily of orthocerid

Orthocerida

Orthocerida is an order of extinct nautiloid cephalopods also known as the Michelinocerda that lived from the Early Ordovician possibly to the Late Triassic . A fossil found in the Caucasus suggests they may even have survived until the Early Cretaceous...

 cephalopods that lived from the late Early Ordovician

Ordovician

The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...

 to the Early Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

., but is no longer in general use.

The Orthocerataceae is one of two superfamilies in the Orthocerida presented in the Treatise, the other being the Pseudorthocerataceae

Pseudorthocerataceae

Pseudorthocerataceae is an extinct genus of actively mobile carnivorous cephalapod, essentially a Nautiloid, that lived in what would be North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia during the Ordovician from 490—445.6 mya, existing for approximately ....

. With the recognition of orthocerids

Orthocerida

Orthocerida is an order of extinct nautiloid cephalopods also known as the Michelinocerda that lived from the Early Ordovician possibly to the Late Triassic . A fossil found in the Caucasus suggests they may even have survived until the Early Cretaceous...

 and pseuorthocerids

Pseudorthocerida

Pseudorthocerida are generally straight longiconic nautiloids with a subcentral to marginal cyrtochoanitic siphuncle composed of variably expanded segments which may contain internal deposits that may develop into a continuous parietal lining.. Cameral deposits are common and concentrated ventrally...

 as separate orders, the two superfamilies became unncessary taxa with the Orthoceraceacea and Pseudorthocerataceae left as historical references.

As originally conceived the Orthocerataceae unites families characterized by straight or slightly curved, smooth or ornamented shells, generally with a circular cross section and tubular, centrally positioned siphuncles; given an overall range from the Lower Ordovician to the Upper Triassic. Eleven families were included, among which are the Orthoceratidae

Orthoceratidae

Orthoceratidae, is an extinct family of actively mobile carnivorous cephalapods, subclass Nautiloidea, that lived in what would be North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia from the Ordovician through Triassic from 490—203.7 mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:Orthoceratidae was...

, Troedssonellidae

Troedssonellidae

Troedssonellidae is a family of orthoceroid cephalopods from the Ordovician, derived from rod-bearing Baltoceratidae, that have a continuous lining within the siphuncle that resembles very thin and slender endocones. Shells are generally slender and orthoconic. The siphuncle is central or...

, Dawsonoceratidae

Dawsonoceratidae

Dawsonoceratidae is an extinct family of orthoconic nautiloid cephalopods that lived in what would be North America and Europe from the Late Ordovician through the Middle Devonian from about 480–390 mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomic Position:...

, and Paraphragmitidae

Paraphragmitidae

Paraphragmitidae is an extinct family of actively mobile aquatic carnivorous cephalapods belonging to the subclass Orthoceratoidea endemic to what would be Asia and Europe during the Silurian living from 436—418.7 mya, existing for approximately ....

.With the discovory of Zhuralevia from the Lower Cretaceous of the Caucasus by Doguzhaeva (pub 1994) the range of this group was effectively well advanced

References

• Flower, R. H. 1976. Ordovician Cephalopod Faunas and Their Role in Correlation; The Ordovician System; Paleontological Association symposium 1974
• Kroger, B. 2008. A new genus of middle Tremadocian orthoceratoids and the Early Ordovician origin of orthoceratoid cephalopods Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53 (4): 745–749, 2008