At 05:07 PM 9/20/2004 -0700, you wrote:
I too have always been curious
about their maximum size, Roy, and think those really big estimates are
dubious. The large orthocones changed apical angle. I bet 9m never
existed, but then what do I know. Is Rex Crick listening in?
Rousseau Flower is long gone, but Walt Sweet might know.
This came up as I've been revising my intro. paleontology notes and I
couldn't find any images of an orthocone of that size. We have
piece one in our collections that I would guess was part of a 3-4 m
individual. I'm reminded of the size of eurypterids issue, which had
textbook mentions of 3 m individuals- I've never seen one that would top
out at more than 2 or so meters. - Roy
Roy E. Plotnick
Professor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
845 W. Taylor St.
Chicago, IL 60607
plotnick@uic.edu
office phone: 312-996-2111 fax:
312-413-2279
lab phone: 312-355-1342
web page:
http://www.uic.edu/~plotnick/plotnick.htm
"The scientific celebrities, forgetting their molluscs and
glacial periods, gossiped about art, while devoting themselves to
oysters and ices with characteristic energy.." -Little Women,
Louisa May Alcott