The genus ''Cibolaites'' is a strongly ribbed and nodose ammonoid

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

from the middle

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

of western

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, included in the taxonomic family

Collignoniceratidae Collignoniceratidae is a family of Upper Cretaceous ammonites characterized by typically more or less evolute shells with compressed, oval, or square whorl sections; serrate or entire keels; and dense ribs with one to 5 tubercles. Taxonomy This ...

. A

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species ''Cibolaites molenaari'' is known.

Description

''Cibolaites'' is a moderate-sized, somewhat involute genus, with a moderate umbilicus, that bears broad rounded ribs on the flanks which bifurcate from the umbilical shoulder on larger specimens. Whorl section is broadest though the umbilical shoulders, flanks converge moderately on a broadly rounded venter. which bears three rows of distinct, commonly elongate, nodes. (Plate 2, figs 1–9, Cobban and Hook, 1983). The suture is ammonitic but relatively simple with generally rounded, cauliform, elements. (Fig 14, p. 17, Cobban and Hook, 1983). ''Cibolaites'' is similar to the

Coniacian The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series and spans the time between 89.8 ± 1 Ma and 86.3 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Coniacian is preceded by t ...

'' Barroisiceras'' which differ in having smaller umbilici and crenulate keels.

History and classification

''Cibolaites'' was discovered in lower Turonian sediments in the Fence Lake area south of Gallop in western New Mexico associated with ''

Neoptychites ''Neoptychites'' is an extinct ammonoid cephalopod genus from the Turonian stage of the Upper Cretaceous (around 94 to 89 Ma), with a worldwide distribution. Description Neoptychites includes extremely involute Ammonitida whose outer whorls ha ...

'' and ''

Fagesia ''Fagesia'' is a small, subglobular ammonite (suborder Ammonitina) belonging to the vascoceratid family of the Acanthocerataceae that lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, 92-88 Ma ago. The shell of ''Fagesia'' is about 9.5 ...

''. The type and only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

is ''Cibolaites molenaari'', named by Cobban and Hook in 1983. The genus name is in reference to

Cibola County, New Mexico Cibola County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants, New Mexico, Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest co ...

. The species is named for C. M. Molinaar who investigated mid-Cretaceous stratigraphy in northwest New Mexico and discovered the Fence Lake Fauna. No other species have been identified. When first described, ''Cibolites'' was placed in the Barroisiceratinae, a subfamily within the Collignoniceratidae, but subsequently moved to the subfamily Collignoniceratinae. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

and

paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). Of ...

s are deposited in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. Additional specimens identified as such are in the collections of the

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a natural history and science museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico near Old Town Albuquerque. The Museum was founded in 1986. It operates as a public revenue facility of the New Mexico Departmen ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

References

*W. A. Cobban and Hook, S. C. 1983 Mid-Cretaceous (Turonian) ammonite fauna from Fence Lake area of west-central New Mexico. Memoir 41, New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources, Socorro NM. Ammonitida genera Collignoniceratidae Late Cretaceous ammonites of North America Turonian life {{Ammonitina-stub