Baculites

Baculites vertebralis · Baculites was an extinct, almost straight-shelled relative of ammonites that lived in oceans worldwide during most of the Late Cretaceous.

It lived about 96 to 65 million years ago.

Baculites
Photo: El fosilmaníaco, CC BY-SA 4.0
Baculites
Photo: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, CC BY-SA 3.0
Baculites
Photo: DanielCD, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumMollusca
ClassCephalopoda
OrderAmmonitida
FamilyBaculitidae
GenusBaculites
SpeciesBaculites vertebralis

Where its fossils were found

Seas worldwide, especially the Western Interior of North America; also Europe.

Fun facts

  • Baculites grew up to 2 metres long, though the smallest species was only about 7 centimetres.
  • Baby Baculites had a tiny coiled shell about 1 centimetre across at the tip before the shell grew straight.
  • Males may have been only a third to a half the size of females, with much lighter ribbing on their shells.
  • Baculites could adjust its buoyancy through a narrow tube in its shell, much like the Nautilus does today.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).