Ammonitida


Ammonitida is an order of more highly evolved ammonoid cephalopods that lived from the Jurassic through Cretaceous time periods, commonly with intricate ammonitic sutures.
Ammonitida is divided into four suborders, the Phylloceratina, Lytoceratina, Ancyloceratina, and Ammonitina.
The Phylloceratina is the ancestral stock, derived from the Ceratitida near the end of the Triassic. The Phylloceratina gave rise to the Lytoceratina near the beginning of the Jurassic which in turn gave rise to the highly specialized Ancyloceratina near the end of the Jurassic. Both the Phylloceratina and Lytoceratina gave rise to various stocks combined in the Ammonitina.
These four suborders are further divided into different stocks, comprising various families combined into superfamilies. Some like the Hildoceratoidea and Stephanoceratoidea are restricted to the Jurassic. Others like the Hoplitoidea and Acanthoceratoidea are known only from the Cretaceous. Still others like the Perisphinctoidea are found in both.