Shell Specimen: Cephalopoda
“Shelling” is a fun for professional scientist and amateurs alike. A majority of the shells below are composed of the mineral aragonite CaCO3. Many of my modern or “recent” shells have fossil relatives in my Fossil Gallery.
Cephalopoda means “head foot: due to the genral appearance of these animals. Members of this group include the octopus, squids and cuttlefish. To see my fossil cephalopods click here, or to see my model cephalopods click here. Below I have organized images and data of some of my sea shells.
Special thanks to Tina Petway, Lucy Clampet and Gary Kidder for giving me what I could not find.
Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Mollusca – Class: Cephalopoda
(Squid, Octopi and Nautilus)
Spirula
Subclass: Nautiloidea
Family: Nautilidae
Species: Spirula spirula
“Common Spirula”
1 in. (2.5 cm)
Nautilus
Subclass: Nautiloidea
Family: Nautilidae
Species: Nautilus pompilius
“Chambered Nautilus”
6 in (15 cm)
Argonauts
Subclass: Argonautoidea
Family: Argonautidae
Species: Argonauta hians
“Brown Paper Nautilus”
3.5 in (9 cm)
Cuttlefish
Order: Sepiida
Suborder: Sepiina
Family: Sepiidae
“Cuttlefish bone”
Data: Dance, S. Peter, Smithsonian Handbook: Shells, The photographic regognition guide to seashells of the world. A Dorling Kindersley Book.