Asteroceras is an extinct genus of cephalopod belonging to the Ammonite subclass. These fast-moving nektonic carnivores lived during the Triassic and Jurassic periods (from 205.6 to 189.6 Ma).[1]

Asteroceras
Temporal range: Late Triassic-Early Jurassic 205.6–189.6 Ma[1]
Asteroceras fossil from Dorset, England.
Illustration of Asteroceras
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Subclass: Ammonoidea
Order: Ammonitida
Family: Arietitidae
Subfamily: Asteroceratinae
Genus: Asteroceras
Hyatt, 1867

Species

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[1][2]

Distribution

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Asteroceras fossils may be found in the Jurassic marine strata of Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Peru, and Turkey, in the Triassic of United States and at Lyme Regis in the Asteroceras obtusum zone of Upper Sinemurian age.[3][1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Paleobiology Database - Asteroceras. 2014-05-29.
  2. ^ Biolib
  3. ^ Martell, D. M. 1995. An Ichthyosaur with Preserved Soft Tissue from the Sinemurian of Southern England. Palaeontology. 38(4): 897-903