Hamites
|
|
| Hamites | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A Reconstruction of the heteromorph ammonite Hamites gardneri by Neale Monks. | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||||||
|
all extinct |
Hamites is a genus of heteromorph ammonite known from the Aptian, Albian, and Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period. The type species is Hamites attenuatus from the early Albian, named by J. Sowerby in 1811. Hamites is characterized by an uncoiled shell, with an open spiral to begin with but opening out into a deep U-shaped hook. In some species there are two 180 degree bends, so that the shell forms a paper-clip like shape. Closely related genera are Hamitella, characterized by a helically coiled shell, and Planohamites, which has a flattened whorl section and a planar, open spiral shell.
It isn't certain what Hamites or any of the other heteromorph ammonites looked like or what their ecology was. Since they were cephalopods, they were probably active and predatory, and most likely used arms to catch their food. Paleontologists are divided over whether they were benthic (bottom-dwelling) animals or planktonic ones. Certainly, their open shells made rapid swimming impossible because of how much drag they would produce.
A recent revision of the genus can be read here [1] (http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/ammonites/Resources/hamitidae.pdf).
The term Hamites has also been applied to people believed to have descended from the sons of Ham. It became a popular name in Anthropology in the 19th and 20th century, often used to justify racist policies of colonial regimes in Africa.
See also
External link
- Possible reconstructions of these animals can be seen here. (http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/ammonites/reconstructions.html) The website of Neale Monks.