Description
This fossil was collected from Ordovician rocks of China. The onset of this period coincided with a phase of marine life diversification, whereas its end was marked by a major extinction event. Invertebrates, namely mollusks and arthropods, dominated the oceans.
Lituites is an extinct nautiloid genus from the Middle Ordovician. Lituites gives its name to the term lituiticon shape, which refers to a shell that is coiled in the early growth stage and later becomes uncoiled. Lituites produced a shell with a planospirally coiled juvenile portion at the apex, followed by a long, generally straight, orthoconic adult section with a subdorsal siphuncle connecting the chambers.
Phylum Mollusca, Classis Cefalopoda, Sub-classis Nautiloidea, Order Tarphycerida, Family Lituitidae, Genus Lituites.
Credits: 3D model and description provided by Daniela Basso and Valentina Bracchi.