Here are a few new papers that may be of interest to anyone with an interest in fossil cephalopods. All are available on-line; links are provided. All are .pdf format so one will need Adobe Acrobat to read them.
To discuss any of them, please go here: here. Just don't ask anything too technical!
THE ORIGIN OF AMMONOID LOCOMOTION
Klug, C. and Korn, D. 2004.
Abstract: Evolution of the coiled ammonoid conch from the uncoiled bactritid conch was probably coupled with changes in manoeuvrability and swimming velocity. The gradual transformation of uncoiled to coiled ammonoid conchs has essential functional consequences. The radical change in conch geometry during phylogeny but also in ontogeny of early ammonoids implies a shift of the aperture from an original roughly downward, via a downward oblique and an upward oblique to an upward orientation, presuming a neutrally buoyant condition of the ammonoid animal. Similar trends were reconstructed for the three main ammonoid lineages in the Middle Devonian, the agoniatitid, the anarcestid, and the tornoceratid lineages. This allowed an increase in manoeuvrability and in the maximum horizontal swimming speed.
http://app.pan.pl/acta49/app49-235.pdf
Shop smart. Shop S-Mart!
TWO PAIRS OF FINS IN THE LATE JURASSIC COLEOID TRACHYTEUTHIS FROM SOUTHERN GERMANY
D. T. Donovan, L. A. Doguzhaeva, H. Mutvei 2003
ABSTRACT A specimen of the Upper Jurassic coleoid Trachyteuthis showing two pairs of posterior lobate fins is described. It is the only known coleoid with two pairs of fins in the adult apart from the Recent Grimalditeuthis. A four-finned ancestral state of Vampyromorpha is hypothesized.
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~palaeont/palbio3/10.pdf
NEW RECORDS OF SOFT PARTS OF MUENSTERELLA SCUTELLARIS MUENSTER, 1842 (COLEOIDEA) FROM THE LATE JURASSIC PLATTENKALKS OF EICHSTÄTT AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR OCTOBRACHIAN RELATIONSHIPS
D. Fuchs, H. Keupp & Th. Engeser 2003
ABSTRACT The systematic position of Jurassic Vampyromorpha among the octobrachiate cephalopods is not without doubts. The present paper deals with the significance of soft part preservation in reconstructing vampyromorph morphology and consequently their phylogenetic relationships. The investigation is based on the reexamination of four specimens of Muensterella scutellaris including the counterpart of Muenster´s lost holotype. Ultra-violet light revealed unknown details of muscle organization. Due to very well preserved remains of soft parts including arms, web, suckers and marginal fins, the octobrachian nature of Muensterella scutellaris has been confirmed.
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~palaeont/palbio3/11.pdf
Soft-tissue attachment structures and taphonomy of the Middle Triassic nautiloid Germanonautilus
C. Klug and A. Lehmkuhl 2004
ABSTRACT New examinations of numerous steinkerns of the Middle Triassic nautiloid Germanonautilus from southern Germany revealed new anatomic, ecologic, and taphonomic details, which are compared with Recent Nautilus. The attachment structures of the cephalic retractor muscle (large scar) and of the dorsal (black layer) and the posterior mantle (posterior narrow scar, anterior band scar of the mantle and septal myoadhesive bands), some with tracking bands (recording the anteriorward movement of the soft body during ontogeny), were seen in several specimens. The shape and proportions of these soft tissue attachment structures resemble those of Recent Nautilus macromphalus and indicate a similar soft part anatomy. Based on their conch geometry, the mode of locomotion of Germanonautilus is reconstructed. Owing to the
wide whorl cross section and the high whorl expansion rate, drag of the conchs was high, the aperture was oriented at an oblique angle which made Germanonautilus a rather slow horizontal swimmer. Because of their large sizes and widths, conchs of Germanonautilus were often deposited on their broad venters, forming elevated “benthic islands” (secondary hardgrounds). A broad range of animals (fish, decapods, ophiurans, crinoids, brachiopods, bryozoans, bivalves, Spirorbis, foraminiferans) lived in and on these comparatively large secondary hardgrounds.
http://app.pan.pl/acta49/app49-243.pdf
COLEOID CEPHALOPODS THROUGH TIME AND CYBERSPACE;
USING CEPHBASE TO EXAMINE BEHAVIOR AND SELECTION
J. B. Wood, R. A. Byrne & N. Monks 2003
ABSTRACT The Coleoidea have a patchy fossil record with some groups having an extensive record and others having virtually none. These extremes are clearly shown when the Belemnoidea are compared with the Octopoda. The reason for this disparity is the lack of a calcified shell (or a shell of any kind) in the recent coleoid groups. There are also profound differences in life history, physiology, anatomy and ecology between the Coleoidea and the other extant cephalopod group, the Nautiloidea, implying that the radiation of the Coleoidea involved more than just modifying the shell. Consequently, and in contrast to the other major molluscan clades, understanding coleoid phylogeny is heavily dependent on a variety of studies of extant taxa. However, preserved material loses much unique and essential information that defines the class, such as rapid behavioral variation in appearance. Traditional methods of disseminating scientific information also limit the kinds of data that can be presented due to high publication costs. CephBase (www.cephbase.utmb.edu) offers researchers a new tool. It allows easy access to 1500 color images, 144 video clips, over 5,000 references, and predator, prey and location data for extant cephalopods.
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~palaeont/palbio3/23.pdf
POTENTIAL OF STATOLITHS FOR INTERPRETING COLEOID EVOLUTION: A BRIEF REVIEW
M. R. Clarke 2003
ABSTRACT: The occurrence of statoliths of cephalopods from both living and fossil species shows great promise for future studies on coleoid evolution. The possible relationship between statolith shape and body movements of living species is discussed and may enable prediction of form and way of life of those early coleoids which have no other fossilised remains. An objective method for comparing statolith and body form by computer is described. Presence of growth rings in fossil statoliths are probably equivalent to those in living species and may reasonably be interpreted to have been laid down daily. The extent of variation in shape in living species permits an evaluation of variation in Jurassic statoliths and three clearly different species are illustrated.
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~palaeont/palbio3/06.pdf
THE SHELL AND INK SAC MORPHOLOGY AND ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE LATE PENNSYLVANIAN CEPHALOPOD DONOVANICONUS AND ITS PHYLOGENETIC SIGNIFICANCE
L. A. Doguzhaeva, R. H. Mapes, H. Mutvei Berlin 2003
ABSTRACT Shell and ink sac morphology and ultrastructure of Late Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Donovaniconus oklahomensis Doguzhaeva, Mapes and Mutvei from Oklahoma, USA, is described. This small, 30 - 40 mm long, breviconic form with a proportionally short phragmocone demonstrates a unique combination of morphological features including a long body chamber, a characteristic element of ectochochleates, and several coleoid attributes, namely: a pro-ostracum, an ink sac, and lamello-fibrillar nacre. The pro-ostracum is evident due to the configuration of growth lines showing a dorsal projection and an irregular ultrastructure of the outermost portion of shell wall, the latter being interpreted as a result of diagenetic alteration of original, mostly organic and weakly calcified material of the pro-ostracum. The pro ostracum surrounds the whole phragmocone and has a dorsal lobe-like anteriorly rounded projection beyond the aperture that extends approximately 1.5 - 2 camerae lengths. The ultrastructural data support the idea that the pro-ostracum represents an innovation of coleoid evolution (Doguzhaeva et al. 2002, Doguzhaeva 2002a) rather than a dorso-lateral remnant of the body chamber shell wall of their ectochochleate precursors as was suggested earlier (see Jeletzky 1966).
The lamello-fibrillar nacre was observed with scanning-electron microscopy (SEM) in split shells of D . oklahomensis. It is formed by numerous lamellae each of which consists of parallel compactly packed fibres. This nacre, or nacre Type II (Mutvei 1970) has been previously observed only in septa of Jurassic-Cretaceous belemnites and spirulids. The presence of ink in an ink sac in D. oklahomensis is confirmed by SEM observations of a globular ultrastructure of the black mass in the body chamber. This mass is interpreted to be an ink sac because of the SEM ultrastructural similarities of the globular ultrastructure of dried ink of Recent squids, cuttlefish and octopus. As in Recent coleoids, in D. oklahomensis the ink sac is relatively large, approximately 0.3 - 0.5 of the body chamber length, and is subdivided into compartments. Donovaniconus oklahomensis belongs within the Coleoidea, and because of its unique characteristics, is assigned to the monotypic family Donovaniconidae Doguzhaeva, Mapes and Mutvei, 2002 that is placed within the Order Phragmoteuthida. The fossil record of the Carboniferous phragmocone-bearing coleoids is discussed.
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~palaeont/palbio3/08.pdf
BODY POSITION AND THE FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY OF CRETACEOUS HETEROMORPH AMMONITES
Neale Monks and Jeremy R. Young 1998
ABSTRACT Previous analyses of ammonite functional morphology have assumed that the animal filled the entire body chamber, and that movement of the animal (such as withdrawal of the head and arms into the shell) had little effect on orientation. An alternative anatomy is proposed here: the ammonite animal was small, mobile, and capable of moving away from the aperture when threatened. The effect of this anatomy on the hydrostatics of aspinoconic, ancycloconic, and hamiticonic heteromorph ammonites is analysed. This analysis suggests that movement of the body would significantly alter the distribution of mass and hence orientation.
http://palaeo-electronica.org/1998_1/monks/text.pdf
Here are a number of scientific papers witten by Dr Neale Monks. All are available for downloading by clicking on the title. All are .pdf format.
Monks N. 1999. Palaeontology, 42, 907-925
Cladistic Analysis of Albian Heteromorph Ammonites
Szives O. & Monks N. 2002. Palaeontology, 44, 1137-1149.
Heteromorphs of the Tata Limestone Formation (Aptian - Lower Albian), Hungary.
Also of interest:
Smith, A. B., Gale, A. S., and Monks. N. 2001. Paleobiology, 27, 241-253.
Sea-level change and rock-record bias in the Cretaceous: a problem for extinction and biodiversity studies.
A list of Neales' other papers is available here.
Short, but interesting paper detailing an ammonite recovered from Bidart in France that has been recovered from just below the K/T boundary and actually contains high levels of iridium. It is estimated that this may have been deposited less than 200-600 years before the mass extinction and filled up with material from the event.
Statistically speaking, it is obvious that this was not the actual last ammonite to have existed, merely one of the last known to have been fossilised. It seems to be increasingly accepted that ammonites were indeed thriving right up to the K/T event.
Cosmic Markers in an Ammonite from the K/T section of Bidart (French Basque Country)] by Robert Rochia, Eric Robin, Jan Smit, Olivier Pierrard and Irene Lefevre. From: 30th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 15-29, 1999, Houston, TX.
Records of Nautiloidea (Mollusc: Cephalopoda) across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Otago and Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
Jeffrey D. Stillwell, Andrew Grebneff
New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1996, Vol.39: 83-91
Abstract:
Mesozoic—Cenozoic shelf deposits throughout the world have a depauperate record of nautiloids when compared to that of other molluscs. The Cretaceous—Tertiary(K-T) boundary record in New Zealand is no exception, with few recorded specimens at any given locality of only a few species. New findings across the K-T boundary in Otago and Chatham Islands, New Zealand, include Eutrephoceras sp. (latest Cretaceous), Eutrephoceras allani (Fleming)(Early—Late Paleocene), and Aturia cf.A. mackayi (Fleming)(Late Paleocene).
http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjgg/1996/103.pdf
Steve has just alerted me to an exceptionally good paper that has just been published by VA Bizikov (2004):
The shell in Vampyropoda (Cephalopoda): Morphology, functional role and evolution, Ruthenica, Supplement 3 (ISSN 0136-0027)
Although of Russian origin, the paper is published in English and is packed full of stunning illustrations. It covers evolution of the shell in Vampyromorpha, Squid, and incirrate and cirrate octopuses, and would probably appeal to anyone interested in the biology of living cephalopods, not just extinct forms.
Copies are available for $28 from this site:
http://www.pensoft.net/authors/bizikovva.stm
Excellent article available in full at the link below. Even better is the fact it is written in plain English!
Mosasaur Predation on Upper Cretaceous Nautiloids and Ammonites from the United States Pacific Coast
ERLE G. KAUFFMAN
Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University
ABSTRACT
A remarkable encounter between two Cretaceous mosasaurs of the same species and a sick or recently dead nautiloid (Argonautilus catarinae Sundberg) is recorded. It is possible that the mosasaur was training its young to attack shelled cephalopods. This is the first recorded attack by two mosasaurs on a nautiloid in the eastern Pacific Ocean, although ammonites preyed upon by mosasaurs are known from the west coast of North America.
Click here
Thanks to Kevin for this new article. It details an extremely rare and exceptionally well preserved coleoid from Lebanon and draws some interesting conclusions as to its position in the cephalopod tree.
The Cretaceous coleoid Dorateuthis syriaca (Woodward): morphology, feeding habits and phylogenetic implications.
Alexander LUKENDER and Mathias HARZHAUSER
Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien June 2004
click here
A brand new paper accepted in February this year:
First nearly complete skeleton of the Cretaceous duvaliid belemnite Conobelus
Alexander Lukeneder
Acta Geologica Polonica Vol. 55 No.2 pp. 147-162
Natural History Museum Vienna, Dept. of Geology and Palaeontology, Bugring, Vienna, Austria
This describes a new Austrian species of duvaliid (i.e with a dorsal groove in the rostrum) belemnite discovered with the phragmacone and partial pro-ostracum preserved more or less intact. This has allowed a reconstruction of the body in its rightful proportions. There are some very good photographs in this paper.
Most interesting that the reconstruction depicts eight arms and two tentacles; belemnites are normally depicted as having ten near-equal length arms covered in hooks with no tentacles. I wonder what the source of this idea is, or if there has been a discovery recently that we have not been told about?
Click below for the paper:
http://www.geo.uw.edu.pl/agp/table/p.../lukeneder.pdf
Fusiteuthis polonica, a rare and unusual belemnite fromthe Maastrichtian
WALTER KEGEL CHRISTENSEN, 2002
Acta Palaeonto−logica Polonica 47 (4): 679–683.
Abstract: A specimen of Fusiteuthis polonica, from the basal Maastrichtian of the “Saturn” chalk pit at Kronsmoor in northwestGermany, is described. It came from the uppermost part of the Belemnella lanceolata Zone, ca. 9.5 m above the base ofthe Maastrichtian as defined on belemnites. Fusiteuthis was very rare, but widely distributed. Single occurrences are known from northwest Germany, Poland and Crimea. It has been recorded only from the lowest and uppermost parts ofthe Maastrichtian; the longevity of this genus was thus slightly less than 6 myr. Fusiteuthis belongs to the Upper Cretaceous belemnite family Belemnitellidae
Click here:
http://app.pan.pl/acta47/app47-679.pdf
Soft-tissue attachments in orthocerid and bactritid cephalopods from the Early and Middle Devonian of Germany and Morocco
Björn Kröger, Christian Klug, and Royal Mapes
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50 (2), 2005: 329-342
Abstract: In the Early to Middle Devonian shale sequences of Germany and Morocco , pyritised and secondarily limonitised cephalopod remains are common. Details of the soft-tissue attachment structures are sometimes preserved on the internal moulds of the body chamber and phragmocone of these cephalopods. Some of the studied Orthocerida show a very faint annular elevation and a dorsal furrow. A few Bactritida show a distinctive annular elevation with two circular bands. The bands form a paired or threefold lobe at the dorsum of the shell. Morphological differences between Orthocerida and Bactritida suggest different soft part morphologies. A comparison of the attachment scars shows that the Bactritida are intermediate between the Orthocerida and ammonoids with regard to their muscle attachment scars. The shape of the muscle scars are interpreted as indication for a planktonic lifestyle in Orthocerida and a comparatively active, nektonic lifestyle in Bactritida and ammonoids. The new genus Acanthomichelinoceras is erected. Acanthomichelinoceras commutatum, Cycloceras sp., Bactrites gracile, Bactrites sp. A, Bactrites sp. B, and Bactrites sp. C are described.
Click here
Thanks for the heads-up Kevin!
Non-invasive diagnostics in fossils - Magnetic Resonance Imaging of pathological belemnites
by D. Meitchen, H. Kreupp, B. Manz, F. Volke
European Geosciences Union, June 2005
Abstract:
For more than a decade, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been routinely employed in clinical diagnostics because it allows non-invasive studies of anatomical structures and physiological processes in vivo and to differentiate between healthy and pathological states, particularly of soft tissue. Here, we demonstrate that MRI can likewise be applied to fossilized biological samples and help in elucidating paleopathological and paleoecological questions: Five anomalous guards of Jurassic and Cretaceous belemnites are presented along with putative paleopathological diagnosesdirectly derived from 3D MR images with microscopic resolution. Syn vivo deformities of both the mineralized internal rostrum and the surrounding former soft tissue can be traced back in part to traumatic events of predator-prey-interactions, and partly to parasitism. Besides, evidence is presented that the frequently observed anomalous apical collar might be in-dicative of an inflammatory disease. These findings highlight the potential of Magnetic Resonance techniques for further paleontological applications.
Click here:
http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/bg/bg/2/133/bg-2-133.pdf
Cladistic analysis of a Problematic Ammonite Group: the Hamitidae and propsals for new cladistic terms
Neale Monks 2002. Palaeontology, 44, 687-707
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/ammon.../hamitidae.pdf
Beaks and Radulae of Early Carboniferous goniates
Larisa Doguzhaeva, Royal H. Mapes, Harry Mutvai
Lethaia 1997
http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/refdb/pdf/7785.pdf
Colossal Squid
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