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Description: | Specimen of a fossil nautiloid, Orthoceras sp., collected from unspecified rocks of Devonian age from Petit Tor, Torquay, Devon (SW England). Collected by William Pengelly.
Orthoceras is an extinct ancestor of the modern Nautilus. Unlike the coiled Nautilus, it had a long tapering cone-shaped shell, which was usually straight, but sometimes slightly curved. The largest of these measure over 4 metres long. Like the ammonites, it had tentacles, and possibly moved around by using a jet propulsion system, squirting water from its shell. They were among the largest predators of their time.
The specimen was found in Devon.
It is from the Devonian period (418 - 362 million years ago) | Publisher: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Subjects: | William Cephalopoda Classification: Animalia Invertebrata Nautiloidea Mollusca Pengelly | Temporal: | Devonian period (418 - 362 million years ago) | Source: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Identifier: | http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/geofinder/se... | Go to resource |
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