page_title: Gladius (cephalopod)
hierarchical_section_title: Gladius (cephalopod)
caption_attribution_description: Trachyteuthis hastiformis ( Rueppell, 1829) Deutsch: Solnhofer Plattenkalk, Tithonium, Oberer Jura, Solnhofen; Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. English: Solnhofen Plattenkalk, Tithonian, Upper Jurassic, Solnhofen; Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Français&#160;: Fossile de Trachyteuthis hastiformis (Tithonien, Jurassique supérieur), récolté dans la formation Solnhofen Plattenkalk, à Solnhofen (Allemagne), et exposé dans le muséum national d'histoire naturelle de Berlin.
context_page_description: The gladius, or pen, is a hard internal bodypart found in many cephalopods of the superorder Decapodiformes and in a single extant member of the Octopodiformes, the vampire squid. It is so named for its superficial resemblance to the Roman short sword of the same name, and is a vestige of the ancestral mollusc shell, which was external. The gladius is located dorsally within the mantle and usually extends for its entire length. Composed primarily of chitin, it lies within the shell sac, which is responsible for its secretion.
  Gladii are known from a number of extinct cephalopod groups, including teudopseids, loligosepiids, and prototeuthids.
context_section_description: The gladius (plural: gladii), or pen, is a hard internal bodypart found in many cephalopods of the superorder Decapodiformes (particularly squids) and in a single extant member of the Octopodiformes, the vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis). It is so named for its superficial resemblance to the Roman short sword of the same name, and is a vestige of the ancestral mollusc shell, which was external. The gladius is located dorsally within the mantle and usually extends for its entire length. Composed primarily of chitin, it lies within the shell sac, which is responsible for its secretion.
  Gladii are known from a number of extinct cephalopod groups, including teudopseids (e.g. Actinosepia, Glyphiteuthis, Muensterella, Palaeololigo, Teudopsinia, Teudopsis, and Trachyteuthis), loligosepiids (e.g. Geopeltis, Jeletzkyteuthis, and Loligosepia), and prototeuthids (e.g. Dorateuthis, Paraplesioteuthis, and Plesioteuthis).
caption: Fossilised gladius of Trachyteuthis
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