Tentaculites - A Baffling Invertebrate
 

Tentaculites is a genus that is baffling. The taxonomy of it has not yet been firmly established. The only certain thing about the taxonomy is that Tentaculites belongs to the kingdom Animalia.
Tentaculites is an invertebrate. Fossils of it date to the Ordovician (488-444 million years ago), the Silurian (444-416 million years ago), and the Devonian (416-359 million years ago). These fossils have been discovered in numerous parts of the U.S.A. For example, fossils of Tentaculites richmondensis have been found in the Bull Fork Formation of Kentucky. This particular species of Tentaculites dates to the Ordovician.
Middle Devonian species have been found in the Mahantango Formation of Schuykill County, New York. They are Tentaculites attenulatus and Tentaculites sp. Some Silurian fossils of Tentaculites sp. have been unearthed in Norway. Tentaculites shells are small. Their length is 5-20 mm.
Some paleontologists claim that Tentaculites is of the mollusk class called Cephalopoda. Others have tried to classify it as an annelid. Some say that it should be classified as a Pteropod. [Note - Pteropods are gastropods of the suborder Thecosomata.]
Tentaculites was an aquatic animal; it lived in inland seas. The shell is ribbed and cone-shaped. However, hardly anything is known about the internal anatomy. This makes the creature difficult to classify.

Neal Robbins

Fossil Photograph of Tentaculites richmondensis
 

A fossil photograph of Tentaculites richmondensis can be seen on this link:

http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/KPS/images/tentaculites.jpg

Neal Robbins

P.S. These fossils were found in the Bull Fork Formation of Kentucky. They date to the Ordovician.

Fossil Photograph of Tentaculites gedinianus
 

A fossil photograph of Tentaculites gedinianus can be seen on this link:

http://www.3d-fossils.com/photos/fossils/tentaculites_gedinianus.jpg

Neal Robbins

P.S. These fossils were found in Morocco. They date to the Devonian period.