Goniatites from Morocco

Goniatites are extinct ammonoids, which flourished from the mid-Devonian to the Late Permian (251.4 to 390 Ma). These shelled cephalopods related to squid, octopus and belemnites forming the order Goniatitida. The Gonatitida originated in the Middle Devonian 390 Ma and survived the Late Devonian extinction. The goniatitids flourished during the Carboniferous and Perian and became extinct at the end of the Permian 251.4 Ma. They were survived by their cousins the ceratite ammonoids.

The goniatites all possessed an external shell, which is divided internally into chambers. The animal lived in the largest of the external chambers, and the internal chambers would have been filled with gas, making the animal buoyant in the water.

The general structure of the goniatites would have been similar to that of their relatives the ammonites, being a free swimming animal possessing a head with two well developed eyes and arms (or tentacles).

Goniatites provided by Panther Creek Minerals, San Antonio, Texas.

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