''Asteroceras'' is an extinct genus of cephalopod belonging to the

Ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttle ...

subclass. These fast-moving nektonic carnivores lived during the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

and

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

periods (from 205.6 to 189.6 Ma).

Species

*'' Asteroceras blakei'' Spath, 1925 *'' Asteroceras confusum'' Spath, 1925 *'' Asteroceras obtusum'' (Sowerby, 1817) *'' Asteroceras reynesi'' Fucini, 1903 *'' Asteroceras saltriensis'' Parona, 1896 *'' Asteroceras smithii'' (Sowerby, 1814) *'' Asteroceras stellare'' (Sowerby 1815) *'' Asteroceras turneri'' (Sowerby, 1814) Paleobiology Database - Asteroceras
2014-05-29.

Distribution

''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 Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

in the ''Asteroceras obtusum'' zone of Upper

Sinemurian In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.3 ± 2 Ma and 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian an ...

age.Martell, D. M. 1995. An Ichthyosaur with Preserved Soft Tissue from the Sinemurian of Southern England. Palaeontology. 38(4): 897-903

References

Ammonitida genera Arietitidae Jurassic ammonites Ammonites of Europe Triassic ammonites Sinemurian life Fossil taxa described in 1867 {{Ammonitida-stub