The Silurian is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at 443.8 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, 419.2 Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoic Era. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by several million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a series of major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events when 60% of marine species were wiped out.
Longitudinal waves are waves in which the displacement of the medium is in the same direction as, or the opposite direction to, the direction of propagation of the wave. Mechanical longitudinal waves are also called compressional or compression waves, because they produce compression and rarefaction when traveling through a medium, and pressure waves, because they produce increases and decreases in pressure.
Slender Oncoceratidae are those in the family Oncoceratidae, which have slender, commonly curved, shells. Some like Oocerina are gently curved, almost straight, and with only slight expansion. Others like Dunleithoceras are strongly curved with a more notable rate of expansion. Inclusion in this somewhat arbitrary category is based on illustrations in the Treatise Part K, 1964.
The Brevicoceratidae is a family of oncocerids that contains genera characterized by exogastric gyrocones, brevicones, and torticones. that tend to develop vestigial actinosiphonate deposits and subtriangular transverse sections. The Brevicoceratidae are derived from Oonoceras (Oncoceratidae) and range from the mid-Silurian to the Upper Devonian.
Spyroceras is a genus of pseudorthocerids from the Devonian of North America and Europe, defined by Hyatt in 1884. Pseudorthocerids are a kind of orthocertaoid, a taxonomic group within the Nautiloidea. Specifically Spyroceras belongs to the pseudorthocerid family, Spyroceratidae.
Kionoceras is an extinct nautiloid cephalopod genus included in the orthocerid family Kionoceratidae with scattered worldwide distribution from the Middle Ordovician to the Lower Permian. Kionoceratids are orthocerids with prominent longitudinal ornamentation on their shells, sometimes augmented by secondary transverse ornamenttion. Orthocerids are, of course, prehistoric nautiloides with generally straight and elongate shells, mostly with central or subcentral siphuncles.
Geisonoceratidae is an extinct family of orthoceroid cephalopods endemic to what would be Asia, Europe, and North America from the Middle Ordovician to the Middle Devonian living from about 470—380 mya, existing for approximately 90 million years. With the possible addition of an Early Cretaceous orthocerid from the western Caucasus the range of this group increases dramatically to some 350 million years,thus making it one of the longest lived families of the Nautiloidea.
Dawsonoceratidae is an extinct family of orthoconic nautiloid cephalopods that lived in what would be North America and Europe from the Late Ordovician through the Middle Devonian from about 480–390 mya, existing for approximately 90 million years.
Protobactrites is an extinct nautiloid cephalopod belonging to the Orthoceratoidea that lived in what would be Europe and Asia during the Ordovician and Silurian from 466–421.3 mya, existing for approximately 44.7 million years.
Kionoceratidae is a family in the Orthocerida, proposed by Hyatt in 1900 for genera characterized by prominent ornamentation in the form of longitudinal ribs, ridges, or lirae, or combinations thereof, sometimes with similar transverse ornament or faint transverse annulations.
Raphitoma linearis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.
Tritia mutabilis, common name : the mutable nassa, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the nassa mud snails or dog whelks.
Parakionoceras is an extinct nautiloid that lived during the Silurian and Devonian in what is now Europe; included in the orthoceratoid family Kionoceratidae in the Treatise part K, 1964 but removed to the Arionoceratidae in Kröger 2008.
Sactorthceras is an orthoceratoid genus known from the Middle Ordovician of eastern North America (NY), Norway and Korea and is the type genus of the Sactorthoceratidae.
Gasconsoceras is a genus of nautiloid cephalopods belonging to the tarphyceroid family Barrandeoceratidae, known from the Middle Silurian.
Monilea philippii is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
Hercocyrtoceras is a middle Silurian oncocerid found in Nova Scotia and Quebec. Shells are depressed, irregularly annulated cyrtocones with V-shaped hyponomic sinuses, ornamented by longitudinal and transverse ridges. Position and structure of the siphuncle were unknown as of 1964.
Lyecoceras is a gender of slender endogastrically curved orthocerids, so determined by identification of the hyponomic sinus on the concave side. The siphuncle is dorsal of the center, toward the convex side of the shell. The surface has faint longitudinal striae and is encircled by weak annulations.
Danaoceras is a nautiloid cephalopod from the middle Silurian of central Europe included in the oncoceroid family Polyelasmoceratidae. Similar specimens from the middle Devonian of North America may belong.
