Cladistic analysis of Albian heteromorph ammonites

A computer-based parsimony analysis of Albian heteromorph ammonites from the Tethyan and European faunal provinces is demonstrated. The results indicate that whilst Anisoceratidae, Baculitidae, Scaphitidae and Turrilitidae are monophyletic, Hamitidae is not. Previous studies of ammonite phylogenetics have used the coiling mode, ornamentation of the shell and the suture line as sources of characters. Comparison of the consistency and retention indices of these character suites indicates that whereas ornamentation is relatively consistent within clades, suture line morphology is highly homoplastic. The earliest known Sciponoceras , S. skipperae sp. nov., is described.