Turrilitidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of extinct heteromorph

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

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. All members had shells that coiled helically that tended to resemble

auger shell The Terebridae, commonly referred to as auger shells or auger snails, is a family of predatory marine gastropods in the superfamily Conoidea.Gofas, S. (2012). Terebridae. World Register of Marine Specie2012-10-12 They have extremely high- Spire ...

s. The ecological roles turrilitids played is largely unknown, as experts are still speculating what niches they filled. Some are suspected of floating in the water column, while others, such as the eponymous '' Turrilites'', are believed to have been bottom-dwellers. The name of the type genus ''Turrilites'' is a hybrid formation based on Latin ''

turris ''Turris'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turridae, the turrids. Description The generally large shells are variegated with spots. The fusiform shell is turriculated with a long, sharp spire. The aperture is o ...

'' "tower" and Greek '' lithos'' "stone", coined by

Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

in 1801. Although they were diverse and cosmopolitan, the turrilitids, along with all other ammonites, did not survive the

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the K–T extinction, was the extinction event, mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. The event cau ...

References

The Paleobiology Database
Accessed on 9/24/07 Ammonitida families Turrilitoidea Cretaceous ammonites Cenomanian first appearances Maastrichtian extinctions Taxa named by Seth Eugene Meek {{Ammonitida-stub