Nipponites

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Nipponites
Fossil range: Turonian to Santonian
Nipponites mirabilis, N. bacchus, and Yezoceras nodosum
Nipponites mirabilis, N. bacchus, and Yezoceras nodosum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Subclass: Ammonoidea
Order: Ammonitida
Suborder: Ancyloceratina
Wiedmann, 1966
Superfamily: Turrilitaceae
Family: Nostoceratidae
Genus: Nipponites
Yabe, 1904
Species
  • N. mirabilis (Yabe, 1904) (type species)
  • N. bacchus (Matsumoto and Muramoto, 1967)
  • N. occidentalis
  • N. sachalinensis

Nipponites ("Stone of Nippon") is an extinct genus of heteromorph ammonites. The species of Nipponites (primarily N. mirabilis) are famous for the way their shells form "ox-bow" bends to form some of the most bizarre shapes ever seen among ammonites.

The ecology of Nipponites, as with many other nostoceratids, is subject to much speculation.

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