Arctomeekoceras facts for kids

Arctomeekoceras was an ancient sea creature. It belonged to a group called ammonoids. Ammonoids were a type of mollusk related to modern-day squid and octopus. However, unlike squid, ammonoids lived inside a hard, spiral shell. Arctomeekoceras lived during the Early Triassic period.

What Was Arctomeekoceras Like?

Arctomeekoceras was part of the Meekoceratidae family. This family of ammonoids had shells that were generally flat and disc-shaped. Their shells were often smooth or had only faint patterns. Inside the shell, the animal had a special wavy line called a "ceratitic suture." This line shows where the internal walls of the shell connected.

Where Did Arctomeekoceras Live?

This ancient creature lived a very long time ago, from about 250 to 245 million years ago (m.y.a.). Fossils of Arctomeekoceras have been found in two main places. One is in the Arctic region of Canada, specifically in Nunavut. Here, its fossils are found in a rock layer called the Blind Fiord Formation.

Another place where Arctomeekoceras fossils have been discovered is in far northern Siberia, in the Russian Federation. These locations tell us that Arctomeekoceras lived in the cold, northern seas of the world during the Early Triassic period.

Life in the Triassic Sea

When Arctomeekoceras swam in the ancient oceans, it shared its home with many other interesting creatures. In Canada, it was found alongside other ammonoids like Neomeekoceras, Olenikites, and Pseudosageceras. In Siberia, it lived with even more types of ammonoids, including Boreomeekoceras, Keyserlingites, Sibirites, and Olenekoceras.

These different ammonoids likely lived together in the same marine environments. They were all part of the diverse sea life that existed after a huge extinction event at the end of the Permian period. The Triassic period was a time when life on Earth began to recover and new species appeared.