Seasonal variation in septal spacing of Sepia officinalis and some Ordovician actinocerid nautiloids |
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Authors: | ROGER A HEWITT BRYAN STAIT |
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Institution: | Department of Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4MI;Department of Geosciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3X5 |
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Abstract: | Studies of cuttlebone of Sepia officinalis L. from the English Channel show a direct and linear correlation between ambient water temperature and septal spacing. The application of this observation to fossil shallow-water nautiloids and ammonoids is complicated by the equatorial habitat of many of these shells, their declining rate of chamber production through ontogeny and a paucity of large and complete specimens. But annual temperature variations are the most likely cause of variations in septal spacing a priori , temperature apparently being the prime determinant of feeding and growth rates of individuals at a particular ontogenetic stage. ▭ Nautiloids, annual growth, Ordovician , Sepia, English Channel. |
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