We herein review fossil examples of pathological phenomena and present a historical review, definition, and the taxonomic handling of such anomalies (forma aegra concept, symptom vs. syndrome). The described phenomena are separated in those with exogenic (injuries,...

Extant cephalopods are commonly infested by parasites making it plausible that ammonoids also had parasites. We review the fossil evidence of parasitic infestations in ammonoids, which, due to low preservation potential of soft-tissues in ammonoids and parasites, are...

Geochemical analyses of ammonoid shells provide an independent and objective data set to evaluate life and habitat of the animal. This uniformitarian consideration, in combination with functional morphology and physical evidence for ecology or physiology, potentially...

Scientific Reports - Stable isotopes and predation marks shed new light on ammonoid habitat depth preferences

Hydromechanics of ammonoid conch ornamentation: trade-offs between rocking attenuation and drag reduction

The buoyancy of ammonoids is one of the most controversial issues of ammonoid paleobiology. This chapter gives a short historical review about attempts made to clarify the potential function of the cephalopod chambered shell (phragmocone) and ammonoid life habits...

The varying body chamber lengths and the different attachment of muscles and mantle to conch wall belong to the major adaptations to their diverse modes of locomotion. Therefore, these traits are indirect indicators of different life styles. The sparse record of...

The oldest oligochaete cocoons (former cladocerans) from the upper Permian (Lopingian) freshwater Karaungir Lagerstätte of eastern Kazakhstan

Findings of ammonoid soft tissues are extremely rare compared to the rich fossil record of ammonoid conchs ranging from the Late Devonian to the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. Here, we apply the computed-tomography approach to detect ammonoid soft tissue remains in well-preserved fossils from the Early Cretaceous (early Albian) of NE-Germany of Proleymeriella. The ammonites were found in glauconitic–phosphatic sandstone boulders. Analyses of the high-resolution Ct-data revealed the presence of cameral sheets, the siphuncular tube wall, and the siphuncle itself. The siphuncle is a long, segmented soft tissue that begins at the rear end of the body chamber and comprises blood vessels. Chemical analyses using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed that all preserved soft tissues were phosphatized and are now composed of fluorapatite. The same holds true for preserved shell remains that locally show the nacreous microstructure. We provide a short description of these soft tissue remains and briefly discuss the taphonomic pathway.

A nearly complete radula with seven elements per row preserved inside of an isolated, bivalved, calcitic lower jaw (= aptychus) of the Late Jurassic ammonite Aspidoceras is described from the Fossill...

In contrast to living organisms, viruses were long thought to lack protein synthesis machinery and instead depend on host factors to translate viral transcripts. Here, we discover that giant DNA virus...

Untersuchungen der verendeten Fische haben weder Schadstoffe noch Verletzungen gefunden. Auch eine Seuche wird mittlerweile ausgeschlossen. Laut Umweltministerium gilt Sauerstoffmangel als wahrscheinl...

Current knowledge on the ammonoid buccal mass and jaw apparatus is synthesized based on in situ fossil records from 109 genera that are distributed in 30 superfamilies of 8 suborders of Devonian to Cretaceous age. As in those of modern cephalopods, the jaw apparatus...

Fossil tip-dating reveals novelties on evolutionary and diversification trends in three Late Ordovician brachiopod genera (Atrypida, Anazygidae) - Volume 99 Issue 2

The Late Viséan (Early Carboniferous) ammonoid species Goniatites sphaericus (Sowerby, 1814) is revised with the use of the type material. With respect to conch morphology, suture line and particularly shell ornament, it is regarded as a senior synonym of the species Goniatites fimbriatus (Foord and Crick, 1897) and must therefore be re-established as an important index fossil for the ammonoid stratigraphy of the Rhenohercynian and Subvariscan shelves. The Goniatites fimbriatus Zone has been re-named Goniatites sphaericus Zone on this basis. The study of ontogenetic changes in the conch parameters shows that intraspecific variation occurs within a wide range. In the whorl profile, variation is very high in small juveniles, while in the coiling rate, intermediate growth stages are more strongly affected.

Aragonite (along with calcite) is one of the most common polymorphs of the crystalline calcium carbonate that forms the skeletal structures of organisms, but it has relatively low preservation potenti...