Cephalaspidea

The order Cephalaspidea, also known as the headshield slugs and bubble snails, is a major taxon of sea slugs and bubble snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the larger clade Euopisthobranchia. Bubble shells is another common name for these families of marine gastropods, some of which have thin bubble-like shells. This clade contains more than 600 species.

Cephalaspidea

Steve Childs from Lancaster, UK · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
OpisthobranchiataPBDB
Diet
omnivorePBDB
Life habit
epifaunalPBDB, for Gastropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Gastropoda
Vision
limitedPBDB, for Gastropoda

Time the record covers

At least 168 million years on record.

The record covers at least 168.6 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 170.9 Mya to 0 Mya.

Middle Jurassic — about 8 of 3181 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 2 of 3181 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 14 of 3181 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 302 of 3181 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 188 of 3181 occurrencesEocene — about 889 of 3181 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 217 of 3181 occurrencesMiocene — about 788 of 3181 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 303 of 3181 occurrencesPleistocene — about 409 of 3181 occurrences174–169 Mya — about 1 occurrence169–163 Mya — about 5 occurrences163–157 Mya — about 2 occurrences157–151 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences151–145 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences139–134 Mya — about 5 occurrences134–128 Mya — about 2 occurrences128–122 Mya — about 2 occurrences122–116 Mya — about 3 occurrences116–110 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences110–105 Mya — about 1 occurrence105–99 Mya — about 4 occurrences99–93 Mya — about 9 occurrences93–87 Mya — about 7 occurrences87–81 Mya — about 21 occurrences81–76 Mya — about 26 occurrences76–70 Mya — about 103 occurrences70–64 Mya — about 169 occurrences64–58 Mya — about 117 occurrences58–52 Mya — about 123 occurrences52–46 Mya — about 158 occurrences46–41 Mya — about 229 occurrences41–35 Mya — about 384 occurrences35–29 Mya — about 152 occurrences29–23 Mya — about 91 occurrences23–17 Mya — about 180 occurrences17–12 Mya — about 366 occurrences12–5.8 Mya — about 233 occurrences5.8–0 Mya — about 784 occurrences168.6 Mya11.7 ka174 Mya0 Mya

3,181 occurrences of Cephalaspidea on record, most of them in the Eocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

3,181 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

415 formations

Cook Mountain — 31.29°N, 86.56°WCook Mountain — 31.31°N, 86.48°WCook Mountain — 30.53°N, 96.69°WCook Mountain — 31.25°N, 95.73°WCook Mountain — 32.32°N, 89.03°WCook Mountain — 32.17°N, 88.83°WCook Mountain — 32.32°N, 89.16°WCook Mountain — 32.04°N, 88.73°WCook Mountain — 32.35°N, 92.72°WCook Mountain — 32.10°N, 88.86°WCook Mountain — 32.36°N, 92.98°WCook Mountain — 30.62°N, 96.53°WCook Mountain — 31.26°N, 93.82°WCook Mountain — 30.90°N, 96.38°WCook Mountain — 30.67°N, 96.37°WCook Mountain — 31.40°N, 94.52°WCook Mountain — 32.51°N, 92.12°WCook Mountain — 31.49°N, 93.47°WCook Mountain — 31.85°N, 92.91°WCook Mountain — 30.02°N, 97.07°WCook Mountain — 31.03°N, 95.63°WCook Mountain — 31.12°N, 95.90°WCook Mountain — 30.62°N, 96.56°WCook Mountain — 31.20°N, 95.73°WCook Mountain — 31.35°N, 95.52°WCook Mountain — 31.11°N, 96.28°WCook Mountain — 30.07°N, 97.08°WGatun — 9.38°N, 79.82°WGatun — 9.04°N, 80.65°WGatun — 9.34°N, 79.90°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.83°WMoodys Branch — 32.85°N, 90.41°WMoodys Branch — 32.95°N, 90.17°WMoodys Branch — 32.23°N, 92.15°WMoodys Branch — 32.01°N, 92.00°WMoodys Branch — 32.33°N, 90.15°WMoodys Branch — 31.88°N, 88.69°WMoodys Branch — 31.84°N, 88.25°WMoodys Branch — 31.26°N, 93.82°WMoodys Branch — 31.67°N, 92.89°WMoodys Branch — 31.97°N, 88.53°WMoodys Branch — 32.17°N, 88.83°WMoodys Branch — 32.98°N, 90.30°WMoodys Branch — 31.92°N, 91.92°WShoal River — 30.72°N, 86.12°WShoal River — 30.72°N, 86.04°WShoal River — 30.69°N, 86.65°WChipola — 30.44°N, 85.19°WChipola — 30.43°N, 84.98°WChipola — 30.33°N, 82.76°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.80°N, 118.16°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.99°N, 118.45°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.60°N, 117.88°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.71°N, 118.27°WProvidence — 31.91°N, 86.17°WProvidence — 31.87°N, 86.08°WProvidence — 31.89°N, 85.70°WProvidence — 31.95°N, 85.68°WProvidence — 31.92°N, 85.35°WProvidence — 31.84°N, 85.22°WProvidence — 31.76°N, 85.13°WProvidence — 31.73°N, 85.12°WProvidence — 31.82°N, 84.97°WProvidence — 31.89°N, 85.21°WReklaw — 30.88°N, 95.38°WReklaw — 30.11°N, 97.32°WReklaw — 30.01°N, 97.26°WReklaw — 30.80°N, 96.72°WPrairie Bluff — 34.25°N, 88.97°WPrairie Bluff — 33.90°N, 88.98°WPrairie Bluff — 33.79°N, 88.91°WPrairie Bluff — 33.72°N, 88.90°WPrairie Bluff — 33.50°N, 88.81°WPrairie Bluff — 33.38°N, 88.74°WPrairie Bluff — 33.07°N, 88.61°WPrairie Bluff — 33.05°N, 88.56°WPrairie Bluff — 32.90°N, 88.46°WPrairie Bluff — 32.67°N, 88.29°WPrairie Bluff — 32.74°N, 88.36°WPrairie Bluff — 32.61°N, 88.24°WPrairie Bluff — 32.43°N, 88.04°WPrairie Bluff — 32.39°N, 87.92°WPrairie Bluff — 32.23°N, 87.50°WPrairie Bluff — 32.13°N, 87.40°WPrairie Bluff — 32.05°N, 86.99°WPrairie Bluff — 32.04°N, 86.79°WPrairie Bluff — 31.95°N, 86.70°WPrairie Bluff — 31.98°N, 86.00°WPrairie Bluff — 31.92°N, 86.17°WPrairie Bluff — 31.99°N, 85.92°WByram — 32.01°N, 89.38°WByram — 32.18°N, 90.25°WByram — 32.48°N, 90.80°WByram — 32.41°N, 90.84°WByram — 32.40°N, 90.87°WByram — 32.33°N, 90.20°WGosport Sand — 31.52°N, 87.90°WGosport Sand — 31.54°N, 87.52°WGosport Sand — 31.50°N, 87.80°WGosport Sand — 31.53°N, 87.57°WGosport Sand — 31.13°N, 87.93°WGosport Sand — 31.53°N, 88.05°WBowden — 17.88°N, 76.28°WKincaid — 31.28°N, 96.98°WKincaid — 31.67°N, 96.47°WKincaid — 30.80°N, 96.95°WKincaid — 30.23°N, 97.52°WKincaid — 31.05°N, 96.83°WKincaid — 30.13°N, 97.47°WKincaid — 31.37°N, 96.69°WKincaid — 31.29°N, 96.72°WLisbon — 31.53°N, 87.60°WLisbon — 31.84°N, 88.25°WLisbon — 31.50°N, 87.80°WLisbon — 31.76°N, 88.10°WLisbon — 31.30°N, 86.48°WLisbon — 32.32°N, 89.16°WLisbon — 31.53°N, 87.50°WLisbon — 31.82°N, 88.24°WLisbon — 31.55°N, 87.91°WEscudo de Veraguas — 9.09°N, 81.55°WEscudo de Veraguas — 9.10°N, 81.57°WBerada — 51.10°N, 5.80°ELlajas — 34.31°N, 118.67°WLlajas — 34.32°N, 118.63°WLlajas — 34.23°N, 118.77°WRipley — 34.73°N, 88.95°WRipley — 34.49°N, 89.01°WRipley — 35.23°N, 88.61°WRipley — 34.25°N, 90.00°WRipley — 32.05°N, 86.78°WRipley — 35.32°N, 88.42°WRipley — 35.29°N, 88.60°WCorsicana Marl — 33.53°N, 94.51°WCorsicana Marl — 32.88°N, 96.20°WCorsicana Marl — 31.82°N, 96.54°WCorsicana Marl — 31.74°N, 96.61°WCorsicana Marl — 31.75°N, 96.61°WCorsicana Marl — 31.40°N, 96.73°WCorsicana Marl — 31.30°N, 96.75°WCorsicana Marl — 30.94°N, 96.95°WCorsicana Marl — 30.37°N, 97.46°WCorsicana Marl — 30.37°N, 97.45°WCorsicana Marl — 30.30°N, 97.46°WCorsicana Marl — 30.23°N, 97.52°WCorsicana Marl — 29.83°N, 97.84°WCorsicana Marl — 29.60°N, 98.03°WCorsicana Marl — 29.37°N, 98.78°WCaloosahatchee — 26.89°N, 82.01°WCaloosahatchee — 26.76°N, 81.14°WCaloosahatchee — 27.77°N, 82.68°WCaloosahatchee — 26.80°N, 81.37°WCaloosahatchee — 26.76°N, 81.46°WCaloosahatchee — 26.96°N, 81.17°WCaloosahatchee — 26.75°N, 80.93°WCaloosahatchee — 26.96°N, 81.99°WSelsey — 51.02°N, 1.32°WSelsey — 50.73°N, 0.78°WNacatoch Sand — 32.10°N, 96.47°WNacatoch Sand — 32.59°N, 96.31°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.93°N, 88.06°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.58°N, 86.74°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 32.08°N, 88.22°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 32.37°N, 88.68°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.35°N, 86.08°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.32°N, 86.00°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.91°N, 87.74°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.93°N, 87.75°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.53°N, 87.32°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.92°N, 87.52°WKeasey — 45.75°N, 123.25°WKeasey — 45.74°N, 123.27°WKeasey — 45.72°N, 123.20°WKeasey — 46.00°N, 123.26°WKeasey — 45.88°N, 123.26°W

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The named rock units Cephalaspidea has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 391 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 520 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Cephalaspidea and its relatives

Eocene

Where Cephalaspidea and its relatives were recorded in the Eocene.

Found in the same rock

1,773 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 1,156 sites for Cephalaspidea, and this reads 240 of them. Of that, one read hit the database's own return limit, so every count below is a floor rather than a total. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

487 references

Each of the 3,181 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 475 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Cephalaspidea

Credit
Steve Childs from Lancaster, UK
Licence
CC BY 2.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Cephalaspidea was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itOpisthobranchiata through timeFormations of the EoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Fischer 1883