Ammonites are a group of extinct cephalopod mollusks with ribbed spiral shells. They are exceptionally diverse and well known to fossil lovers. Régis Chirat, researcher at the Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes et Environnement (CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1/ENS de Lyon), and two colleagues from the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford have developed the first biomechanical model explaining how these shells form and why they are so diverse. Their approach provides new paths for interpreting the evolution of ammonites and nautili, their smooth-shelled distant cousins that still populate the Indian and Pacific oceans. This work has just been published on the website of the Journal of Theoretical Biology. Read more at: phys.org/news/2014-10-physics-ammonite-shell.html#jCp
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000
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