Cameroceras trentonense

Hundreds of millions years ago, long before the dinosaurs ruled the Earth, all living creatures on the planet swam in the oceans. During the Ordovician Period, the giant orthocone came on the scene and ruled the seas. This shelled, squid-like creature hunted and killed prey with a combination of jet propulsion, strong tentacles and a pointed beak."Super Squid: The fleshy front part of the giant orthocone's body was like that of a modern squid. The ancient predator grabbed prey with three-foot tentacles and crushed victims with a hard beak hidden behind them.""Move Along: This creature lacked flippers or fins to propel it through water, but did have a hollow tube that came out of its shell, just under its head. The orthocone could point this in any direction and squirt out of a jet of water to push it backward or foward."

Chief Cone
The most amazing feature of the giant orthocone was its long body, which was made up mostly of its cone-shaped shell. The creature's organs were in the front of the shell, crammed just behind its "head." Body and shell combined, this ancient cephalopod grew to lengths up to 36 feet, making dominant predator of the seas. The giant orthocone is still one of the largest cephalopods ever known, though shorter than the elusive giant squid.

Moderns squids and cuttlefish are related to the giant orthocone.

Did You Know?
The name "orthocone" means "straight and slender," referring to this creature's long shell."Ups & Downs: Fossils show that the giant orthocone's shell was mostly hollow and contained several chambers. The creature controlled its depth by letting water in and out of these chambers, much like the chambered nautilus does.""Star Wars: Experts aren't sure why many creatures went extinct about 440 million years ago, but some think the explosion of a star might have been the culprit. A burst of gamma radiation from the explosion hit Earth, which dissolved the ozone layer and fried most life on the planet."Timeline: The giant orthocone lived 470 to 440 million years ago, during the Ordovician Period.