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A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the рrimitive molluscan foot. Fishers sometimes call cephalopods "inkfish", referring to their common ability to squirt ink. The study of cephalopods is a branch of malacology known as teuthology.
The nautilus is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina.
Nectocaris pteryx is a species of possible cephalopod known from the "early Cambrian" Emu Bay Shale and Chengjiang biota, the "middle Cambrian" Burgess Shale.
The giant squid is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of deep-sea gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around 12–13 m (39–43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males, from the posterior fins to the tip of the two long tentacles. The mantle of the giant squid is about 2 m long, and the length of the squid excluding its tentacles rarely exceeds 5 m (16 ft). Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.
Subclass Coleoidea, or Dibranchiata, is the grouping of cephalopods containing all the various taxa popularly thought of as "soft-bodied" or "shell-less". Unlike its extant sister group, Nautiloidea, whose members have a rigid outer shell for protection, the coleoids have at most an internal cuttlebone, gladius, or shell that is used for buoyancy or support. Some species have lost their cuttlebone altogether, while in some it has been replaced by a chitinous support structure.
Nautiloids are a large and diverse group of marine cephalopods (Mollusca) belonging to the subclass Nautiloidea that began in the Late Cambrian and are represented today by the living Nautilus and Allonautilus. Nautiloids flourished during the early Paleozoic era, where they constituted the main predatory animals, and developed an extraordinary diversity of shell shapes and forms. Some 2,500 species of fossil nautiloids are known, but only a handful of species survive to the present day.
Baculites is an extinct genus of cephalopods with a nearly straight shell, included in the heteromorph ammonites. The genus, which lived worldwide throughout most of the Late Cretaceous, and which briefly survived the K-Pg mass extinction event, was named by Lamarck in 1799.
Orthoceras is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod restricted to Middle Ordovician-aged marine limestones of the Baltic States and Sweden. This genus is sometimes called Orthoceratites. Note it is sometimes misspelled as Orthocera, Orthocerus or Orthoceros.
The chestnut-bellied sandgrouse or common sandgrouse is a species of sandgrouse. It is a sedentary and nomadic species that ranges from northern and central Africa and further east towards western and southern Asia. There are six recognised subspecies.
The genus Allonautilus contains two species of nautiluses, which have a significantly different morphology from those placed in the sister taxon Nautilus. Allonautilus is now thought to be a descendant of Nautilus, rendering the latter genus paraphyletic.
Allonautilus scrobiculatus, also known as the crusty nautilus or fuzzy nautilus, is a species of nautilus native to the waters around New Guinea, specifically New Britain and Milne Bay, and the Solomon Islands. A. scrobiculatus is instantly recognizable by the large open umbilicus, which is around 20% of the shell diameter at its widest point. This species, along with the closely related A. perforatus, were originally placed in the genus Nautilus, but have recently been given their own genus on account of significant morphological differences. The most obvious are features of the shell, including crease and an encrusting layer (periostracum) that covers most of the shell. Gills and reproductive structures also differ significantly from members of the genus Nautilus. The shell is usually up to around 18 cm in diameter, although the largest specimen ever recorded measured 21.5 cm. The species was thought to have gone extinct after 1986, but was rediscovered in July 2015. According to The Telegraph, "the allonautilus scrobiculatus has inhabited the earth for 500 million years and has only been seen twice, until now".
Cameroceras is a genus of extinct, giant orthoconic cephalopod that lived mainly during the Ordovician period. It first appears during the middle Ordovician, around 470 million years ago, and was a fairly common component of the fauna in some places during the period, inhabiting the shallow seas of Laurentia, Baltica and Siberia. Its diversity and abundance became severely reduced following the Ordovician–Silurian extinction events, and the last remnants of the genus went extinct sometime during the Wenlock.
Eptesicus is a genus of bats, commonly called house bats or serotine bats, in the family Vespertilionidae. The genus name is likely derived from the Greek words ptetikos 'able to fly' or petomai 'house flier', although this is not certain.
The horn-skinned bat is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in Mali and Sudan. It is found in subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, and hot deserts.
Flower's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Egypt. Its natural habitat is arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Gerrhopilus is a genus of snakes in the family Gerrhopilidae.
Acutiramus is a genus of giant predatory eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Acutiramus have been discovered in deposits of Late Silurian to Early Devonian age. Seven species have been described, five from North America and two from the Czech Republic. The generic name derives from Latin acuto and Latin ramus ("branch"), referring to the acute angle of the final tooth of the claws relative to the rest of the claw.
The cephalopods have a long geological history, with the first nautiloids found in late Cambrian strata, and purported stem-group representatives present in the earliest Cambrian lagerstätten.
Eutrephoceras is an extinct genus of nautilus from the Late Jurassic to the Miocene. They are characterized by a highly rounded involute shell with slightly sinuous suture patterns.
Taylor's striped mabuya is a species of skink endemic to island of Sri Lanka.
References
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(October 2014) |
- Valhalloceras floweri in Fossilworks, 16 Oct 2014
- Jack Sepkoski, 2000. List of cephalopod genera
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