Euhoplites
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| Euhoplites Fossil range: Cretaceous |
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Fossil
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E. opalinus |
Euhoplites is an extinct genus of cephalopod belonging to the ammonite subclass. Fossils of this animal are commonly found in strata dating back to the Albian stage of the Cretaceous Period in southeastern England. The most common ammonites of the Folkstone (sometimes spelt "Folkestone") fossil beds are the various species of Euhoplites. Its shell was covered with lumps and bumps. The function of these adornments are unknown, although they may have been a source of hydrodynamic drag, preventing Euhoplites from swimming at high speeds. Studying them, therefore, may give some insight into the lifestyle of this ancient marine predator. Euhoplites was a small Ammonite with shells of diameters of at most a few inches in diameter, depending on the age, species and possibly gender of the individual.
[edit] Classification
Euhoplites is closely related to Hoplites, another ammonite genus. The two share the same superfamily, the same family (Hoplitidae), and the same subfamily, the Hoplitinae. Even the name "Euhoplites" means "True Hoplites."
[edit] List of Species
Some of the following species may turn out to be invalid or misclassified taxa, and like much of species-level ammonite classification, is likely to be revised as further research is conducted by paleontologists.
- E. bucklandi
- Believed to be ancestral to E. proboscideus.
- E. lautus
- E. nitidus
- E. ochetonotus
- E. opalinus
- E. proboscideus
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