The present cephalopod taxon was proposed by Smith (1938) as a variety of Orthoceras indianum Girty (1909, p. 47, pl. 6, figs. 13, 13a) from the Chesterian (Upper Mississippian; lower Carboniferous) Caney Shale in Oklahoma on the basis of similarities of gross conch shape and surface ornamentation. However, a phylogenetic relationship between these two taxa is uncertain because of the unknown internal morphologies of the Mississippian species. The transverse constrictions made by internal shell wall thickenings of this species warrant a placement in Bitaunioceras. The discovery from the Desmoinesian rocks represents the oldest and first Pennsylvanian record of this genus. Previous stratigraphic records of the genus range from the Sakmarian (lower Permian) of the southern Urals (Shimansky, 1954) and central Japan (Niko and Nishida, 1987) to the Guadalupian (middle Permian) of Sicily (Gemmellaro, 1890) and northern Mexico (Miller, 1944).
Full reference: S. Niko, B. Seuss, and R.H. Mapes. 2018. Desmoinesian (Middle Pennsylvanian) orthocerid cephalopods from the Buckhorn Asphalt Lagerstätte in Oklahoma, Midcontinent North America. Paleontological Research 22(1):20-36
Belongs to Bitaunioceras according to S. Niko et al. 2018
Sister taxa: Bitaunioceras coahuilense, Bitaunioceras inordinatum, Bitaunioceras krotowi, Bitaunioceras texanum, Bitaunioceras undulatum, Bitaunioceras zonatum
Type specimen: Orthoceras bitauniense, a partial shell
Ecology: fast-moving nektonic carnivore
Distribution: found only at Buckhorn Asphalt Quarry (cephalopod coquina, Carboniferous)) (Carboniferous of Oklahoma)
Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.
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