# Scaphites

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{short description|Genus of mollusks (fossil)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = SmallScaphites.jpg
| fossil_range = [Cretaceous](/source/Cretaceous), {{fossilrange|105|66}}
| image_caption = ''Scaphites'' sp. from Colorado<br/> Specimen is {{convert|2.8|cm|in}} from top to bottom
| taxon = Scaphites
| authority = [Parkinson](/source/James_Parkinson), 1811
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}

'''''Scaphites''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of heteromorph [ammonite](/source/ammonite)s belonging to the [Scaphitidae](/source/Scaphitidae) family. They were a widespread genus that thrived during the [Late Cretaceous](/source/Late_Cretaceous) period.

==Morphology==
''Scaphites'' generally have a chambered, boat-shaped shell. The initial part (juvenile stage) of the shell is generally more or less involute (tightly coiled) and compressed, giving no hint of the heteromorphic shell form yet to come. The terminal part (adult stage) is much shorter, erect, and bends over the older shell like a hook. They have transverse, branching ribs with tubercles (small bumps) along the venter.

thumb|200px|left|Suture pattern of ''Scaphites''Reconstructions of the body within the shell can be made to portray ''Scaphites'' as either a benthic (bottom-dwelling) or [plankton](/source/plankton)ic animal, depending on where the center of gravity is located. Since useful [fossil](/source/fossil)s of the soft-body parts of cephalopods are highly rare, little is known about how this animal actually fit into its shell and lived its life.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

==Age==
Because ''Scaphites'' and its relatives in the superfamily Scaphitoidea are restricted to certain ages of the [Cretaceous](/source/Cretaceous) (''ca.'' 144 to 66.4 million years ago), they are useful in some areas as an [index fossil](/source/index_fossil). A notable example is the Late Cretaceous [Western Interior Seaway](/source/Western_Interior_Seaway) in North America, in which several [endemic](/source/Endemic_(ecology)) lineages of scaphite species evolved and now serve as the basis for a highly resolved regional [biostratigraphy](/source/biostratigraphy).

== Species ==
* ''Scaphites aequalis'' † <small>[J. Sowerby](/source/James_Sowerby), 1813</small>
* ''Scaphites binneyi'' † <small>[Reeside](/source/John_B._Reeside), 1927</small>
* ''Scaphites carlilensis'' † <small>[Morrow](/source/Aubrey_Lyndon_Morrow), 1935</small>
* ''Scaphites depressus'' † <small>Reeside, 1927</small>
* ''Scaphites ferronensis'' † <small>[Cobban](/source/William_A._Cobban), 1951</small>
* ''Scaphites frontierensis'' † <small>Cobban, 1951</small>
* ''Scaphites hippocrepis'' † <small>[DeKay](/source/James_Ellsworth_De_Kay), 1827</small>
* ''Scaphites impendicostatus'' † <small>Cobban, 1951</small>
* ''Scaphites leei'' † <small>Reeside, 1927</small>
* ''Scaphites nanus'' † <small>Reeside, 1927</small>
* ''Scaphites nodosus'' †
* ''Scaphites obliquus'' † <small>[J. Sowerby](/source/James_Sowerby), 1813</small>
* ''Scaphites preventricosus'' † <small>Cobban, 1951</small>
* ''Scaphites tetonensis'' † <small>Cobban, 1951</small>
* ''Scaphites uintensis'' † <small>Cobban, 1951</small>
* ''Scaphites warreni'' † <small>[Meek](/source/Fielding_Bradford_Meek) and [Hayden](/source/Ferdinand_Vandeveer_Hayden), 1860</small>
* ''Scaphites whitfieldi'' † <small>Cobban, 1951</small>

== Distribution ==
Fossils of ''Scaphites'' have been found in [Antarctica](/source/Antarctica), [Armenia](/source/Armenia), [Australia](/source/Australia), [Belgium](/source/Belgium), [Bulgaria](/source/Bulgaria), [Canada](/source/Canada) ([Alberta](/source/Alberta), [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), [Northwest Territories](/source/Northwest_Territories)), [Denmark](/source/Denmark), [France](/source/France), [Germany](/source/Germany), [Greenland](/source/Greenland), [India](/source/India), [Italy](/source/Italy), [Japan](/source/Japan), [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar), [Mexico](/source/Mexico), [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand), [South Africa](/source/South_Africa), [Spain](/source/Spain), [Sweden](/source/Sweden), [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland), [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine), the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), and the [United States](/source/United_States) ([Alabama](/source/Alabama), [Alaska](/source/Alaska), [Arizona](/source/Arizona), [California](/source/California), [Colorado](/source/Colorado), [Delaware](/source/Delaware), [Kansas](/source/Kansas), [Maryland](/source/Maryland), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota), [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi), [Missouri](/source/Missouri), [Montana](/source/Montana), [Nebraska](/source/Nebraska), [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico), [North Dakota](/source/North_Dakota), [Oregon](/source/Oregon), [South Dakota](/source/South_Dakota), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee), [Texas](/source/Texas), [Wyoming](/source/Wyoming)).<ref name=FWScaphites>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=95930 ''Scaphites''] at [Fossilworks](/source/Fossilworks).org</ref>

== References ==
{{Portal|Paleontology}}
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060303122039/http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/ammonites/moreammonites.html Hypothetical reconstructions of various genera of Ancyloceratida]
* [http://www.ammonoid.com/Scaphites.htm Ammonoid.com]
* [http://www.ammonoid.com/ufc-Strat.htm A Biostratigraphic List of fossil Cephalopods in Utah]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1061798}}
Category:Late Cretaceous ammonites of Europe
Category:Ammonitida genera
Category:Scaphitidae
Category:Cretaceous ammonites
Category:Ammonites of Antarctica
Category:Cretaceous ammonites of North America
Category:Cretaceous Mexico
Category:Cretaceous Europe
Category:Cretaceous Africa
Category:Cretaceous Asia
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1811

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Scaphites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaphites) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaphites?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.