''Trachyteuthis'' is a genus of extinct octopodiform

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s, comprising six species: ''T. hastiformis'', ''T. latipinnis'', ''T. nusplingensis'', ''T. teudopsiformis'', ''T. covacevichi'' and ''T. chilensis''.

Taxonomy

The

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

placement of ''Trachyteuthis'' is uncertain. Though often assigned to the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Vampyromorphida Vampyromorphida is an order of cephalopods comprising one known extant species ('' Vampyroteuthis infernalis'') and many extinct taxa. Physically, they somewhat resemble octopuses (their closest relatives), but are often called vampire squid ...

, the discovery of fossilised ''Trachyteuthis'' beaks in the

Upper Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

suggests a close

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

relation to the Octopoda. It is clear that it does at least belong in the

Coleoidea Coleoidea or Dibranchiata is one of the two subclasses of cephalopod molluscs containing all the various taxa popularly thought of as "soft-bodied" or "shell-less" (i.e. octopus, squid and cuttlefish). Unlike its extant sister group Nauti ...

. It is thought to be very closely related to '' Teudopsis''.

Distribution

Fossils are scarce but have been reported from the

Kimmeridge clay The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary rock, sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation (geology), form ...

of the UK; the

Solnhofen Solnhofen is a municipality in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the region of Middle Franconia in the ' of Bavaria in Germany. It is in the Altmühl valley. The local area is famous in geology and palaeontology for Solnhofen lime ...

limestone of Germany, Jurassic deposits in Antarctica, and Oxfordian deposits in Chile.

History

First described in 1773 as the remnants of a fish, ''Trachyteuthis'' was considered comparable to a '' Sepia'' cuttlebone by Rüppell in 1829. A separate genus was erected for the material in 1846 by Meyer. English material discovered in 1855 was termed ''Coccoteuthis latipinnis''; this was later synonymised with the identical Solnhofen deposits. A 2007 survey of museum collection established that there were ground for the erection of three species within the genus.

References

External links

Fischerverlag Jena aus Adolf Naef "Die Fossilen Tintenfische" 1922The Taxonomicon: Order Vampyromorphida
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4119964 Coleoidea Prehistoric cephalopod genera Jurassic cephalopods Solnhofen fauna Fossil taxa described in 1846