Bellerophon (genus)
Bellerophon fossil from the museum in Val Gardena Ortisei
- America
- Europe
- Africa
- Australasia
Bellerophon is a genus of extinct worm whose fossils are found from the Paleozoic in Central Europe. This genus formerly marine molluscs was named after the mythical Greek hero Bellerophon.
Features
The housing of Bellerophon is rolled spirally, the diameter of the housing aperture increases from inside to outside rapidly. The housing is rolled up in a plane, so do not form, as in many extant species of snails a tip ( apex). The shell surface is smooth, it is only the individual growth lines can be seen. The shell is similar externally to the housing of the nautilus ( nautiloid ), but among the cephalopods and possess inside chambered housing.
The case of Bellerophon can be up to 50 inches tall. On the outer side can often find a marker that divides the housing into an upper and a lower half. It is therefore presumed that part of the shell and the foot of the screw have covered the bottom of the housing.
Linsley assumed that these snails could move relatively quickly and withdrew completely into the housing at risk.
Dissemination
The genus is known from Paleozoic strata from the late Cambrian ( Furongium ) known worldwide. Most species have been found from the period between the middle Ordovician and Silurian end. Bellerophon is extinct in the early Triassic. Species that have been preserved across the boundary between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic of time, can be used to investigate the mass extinction at the end of the Permian.
System
Although Bellerophon is considered by most paleontologists as primordial worm, there are some scholars who suspect a more original Molluskengruppe behind this genus. However, the genus Bellerophon is said to have had a twisted visceral sac as the other groups of snails. From the symmetry of its housing can be concluded that most of the organs were created bilaterally.
Types (selection)
Pictures of Bellerophon (genus)
