This Fossil Friday we have another invertebrate for you, Aturia. Like last week’s turritellid, Aturia is a mollusc; however, it belongs to the Class Cephalopoda. Aturia is a member of the Order Nautilida, which includes the modern-day Nautilus.This specimen was found in the lower Gatún Formation of Panama and is middle Miocene in age. The shell is divided into chambers that are visible on the outside of the shell. The chambers are connected by a duct called a siphuncle and together would have been used for buoyancy in life.

UF 183333, a fossil shell of Aturia sp.

A modern-day Nautilus belauensis. Photo © Manuae, from Wikimedia.

If you would like to learn a bit more about this specimen, look up its catalog number on the FLMNH Invertebrate Paleontology Collections website: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/invertpaleo/search.asp.