Acanthoceras

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Cephalopoda
Subclassis: † Ammonoidea
Ordo: † Ammonitida
Subordo: Ammonitina
Superfamilia: Acanthocerataceae
Familia: Acanthoceratidae
Subfamiliae: Acanthoceratinae
Genus: Acanthoceras
Species: A. rhotomagensis
Name

Acanthoceras Neumayr, 1875
References

The Paleobiology Database Accessed on 12/12/08

Acanthoceras is an extinct cephalopod genus belonging to the subclass Ammonoidea and family Acanthoceratidae that lived from the Albian to early Coniacian stages of the Cretaceous.[1]

Description

Their shells had ornate ribs whose function is unknown, although some scientists have speculated that these ribs helped strengthen the animals' shells to allow them to live at greater depths where the water pressure is higher. An adult had a shell diameter of approximately 100 centimetres (39 in).
Species

A. athabascense Warren and Stelck, 1955
A. chasca Benavides-Caceres, 1956
A. compitalis Stoyanow, 1949
A. folleatum White, 1887
A. joserita Stoyanow, 1949
A. jukesbrownei Spath, 1926
A. offarcinatum White, 1887
A. pollocense Benavides-Caceres, 1956
A. rhotomagensis (Brongniart, 1822)
A. sangalense Benavides-Caceres, 1956
A. seitzi Riedel, 1932
A. wintoni Adkins, 1928

Distribution

Acanthoceras fossils have been found in Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia (Hondita Formation, Prado, Tolima),[2] Denmark, Egypt, Marocco, France, Germany, India (Gujarat) , Iran, Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the United Kingdom, United States (California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas), and Venezuela.[1]
References

Acanthoceras at Fossilworks.org

Patarroyo, 2011

Bibliography

Patarroyo, Pedro. 2011. Sucesión de Amonitas del Cretácico Superior (Cenomaniano-Coniaciano) de la parte más alta de la Formación Hondita y de la Formación Loma Gorda en la Quebrada Bambucá, Aipe - Huila (Colombia). Boletín de Geología, Universidad Nacional de Colombia 33. 69-92. Accessed 2017-03-31.