Ceratites

fossil cephalopod genus

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Ceratites, extinct genus of cephalopods (whose modern members include the octopus, the squid, and the nautilus) that serves as an index fossil for marine rocks and time of the Middle Triassic Period (245.9 million to 228.7 million years ago). The shell consisted of a series of chambers arranged in a spiral pattern, each succeeding chamber becoming larger. The chambers are united along complexly convoluted surfaces (sutures) that have a distinctive pattern of lobes, or arches, and troughs.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Richard Pallardy.