Worthenia

Worthenia
Temporal range: Devonian - Triassic
Worthenia cf. tabulata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Family: †Lophospiridae
Genus: †Worthenia
de Koninck, 1883

Worthenia is an extinct genus of sea snail found in the fossil record. This genus is primarily found in rocks formed during the Devonian to Triassic periods (416-200 Ma) from the central areas of North America. Worthenia was named for the paleontologist Amos Henry Worthen, who lived from 1813 to 1888.

Worthenia species have a "turban-shaped shell in which a raised ridge follows the margin of the whorls. Small nodes occur along the ridge, and the opening of the shell is oval and large."

References

  1. ↑ de Koninck L. G. (1883). "Faune du calcaire carbonifère de la Belgique, 4e partie, Gastéropodes (suite en fin)". Musée Royale d’Historie Naturelle Belgique Annales, Série Paléontoloque 8: 1-240. page 64.
  2. ↑ National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fossils (408)
  3. ↑ "Worthenia." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 04 Nov. 2010.