All:
This is follow-up to my posting of a while ago on the evidence for really
large nautiloids (ca. 9 m long). I decided that it would be
worthwhile to do a study of the allometry of these forms, in particular
the size of the living chamber relative to the phragmacone, so that
something more specific can be said. I have an undergraduate who is doing
this as an independent research project. Yesterday we went though
the collections at the Field Museum. We found very few longicones (e.g.,
Endoceras) with even partially preserved body chambers; on the
other hand, we did locate a fair number of brevicones (e.g.
Hexameroceras) with the body chamber. I am sure there are good
biomechanical/taphonomic reasons for this. We will work with the
brivoicones.
Now for a request (otherwise known as asking y'all to do my work for
me). Do you have any complete (e.g.,
with the body chamber)
specimens of longicone nautiloids? If so, would you mind
taking a few measurements. Please respond off list. Thanks! -
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