Muensterellidae

Muensterellidae is a family of stem-octopod cephalopods from the Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous.

Muensterellidae Temporal range: Kimmeridgian–Campanian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil of Muensterella scutellaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Octopoda
Suborder:	†Teudopseina
Superfamily:	†Muensterelloidea
Family:	†Muensterellidae Roger, 1952
Subgroups
†Listroteuthis †Muensterella (paraphyletic) †Enchoteuthinae †Enchoteuthis †Niobrarateuthis †Tusoteuthis

Phylogeny

Muensterellidae is one of two families in the superfamily Muensterelloidea along with the Patelloctopodidae. The muensterelloids are characterized by having a roughly spoon-shaped end of the gladius called the patella. This type of gladius is likely ancestral to the gladius remnants of modern octopuses.^[1][2]