Česká geologická služba
Virtual museum
Home  > Taxonomy > Animals > Metazoans > Molluscs > Cephalopods

Cephalopods

      A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural Κεφαλόποδα (kephalópoda); "head-feet"). These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Fishermen sometimes call them inkfish, referring to their common ability to squirt ink. The study of cephalopods is a branch of malacology known as teuthology. Cephalopods became dominant during the Ordovician period, represented by primitive nautiloids. The class now contains two, only distantly related, extant subclasses: Coleoidea, which includes octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish; and Nautiloidea, represented by Nautilus and Allonautilus. In the Coleoidea, the molluscan shell has been internalized or is absent, whereas in the Nautiloidea, the external shell remains. About 800 living species of cephalopods have been identified. Two important extinct taxa are the Ammonoidea (ammonites) and Belemnoidea (belemnites).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod
Mandaloceras JB521
Mandaloceras JB587
Manicoceras intumescens Ich5058
Mantelliceras mantelli p3917
Maorites densicostatus Kilian & Reboul, 1909 AN945
Maorites densicostatus Kilian & Reboul, 1909 AN957
Maorites densicostatus Kilian & Reboul, 1909 AN931
Melchiorites blayaci XB250
Melchiorites blayaciVašíček (1972), Pl. XIII, fig. 5 ZV58
Melchiorites blayaciVašíček (1972), Pl. XIII, fig. 4 ZV57
Melchiorites lechircus XB251
Melchiorites melchiorisVašíček (1972), Pl. XII, fig. 5 ZV56
Melchiorites XB253
Melchiorites XB252
Mesopuzosia indopacificaVašíček (1992), Pl. II, fig. 1-3; text. fig. 2 YA2032
Metarizoceras VF956
Michelinoceras michelini LC4
Michelinoceras michelini LC43
Michelinoceras michelini LC115
Michelinoceras michelini LC110

Virtual museum of the Czech Geological Survey, www.geology.cz, (C) Czech Geological Survey, 2011, v.0.99 [13.12.2011]