Part of a series of articles titled Grand Canyon Collections—Paleontology.
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Coiled Nautiloid
Marine Fossil
Scientific Name: Tainoceras schellbachi
This coiled nautiloid was found in the Kaibab Formation, which is a limestone deposited when the area that is now the Grand Canyon was covered by a shallow sea 270 million years ago. It is an extinct relative of modern cephalopods like the squid and nautilus. Nautiloids, like this one, would have thrived in this habitat, where it would have moved slowly above the seafloor catching prey with its tentacles. This particular fossil is a holotype specimen, meaning that it was used to identify and describe Tainoceras schellbachi as a new species. It was collected by park naturalist Edwin McKee on land that was once in Grand Canyon National Park, but has since been transferred to the Havasupai Reservation.
3D Coiled Nautiloid—Tainoceras schellbachi
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
A 3D model. This model shows a fossil of a coiled shell. The model can be rotated and tilted using a computer interface.
Species: Tainoceras schellbachi
Species: Tainoceras schellbachi
Collected from the Kaibab Limestone in Grand Canyon National Park. Holotype specimen.
This fossil is in the collections at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Learn about paleontology in the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/index.htm
Learn more about Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial: https://www.nps.gov/grca/getinvolved/centennial.htm
Last updated: May 3, 2021