Receptaculites is the name-bearing genus for an extinct group of conspicuous benthic marine genera, the receptaculitids (formally Receptaculitaceae or Receptaculitidae), that lived from the Early Ordovician through the Permian period, peaking in the Middle Ordovician. The group's phylogenetic origin has long been obscure, with some arguing that they were calcareous algae, probably of the order Dasycladales.
Receptaculites is the name-giving genus for an extinct group of conspicuous benthic marine genera, the receptaculitids (formally Receptaculitaceae or Receptaculitidae), that thrived from the Early Ordovician to the Permian period, with a peak in the Middle Ordovician. The identity of their evolutionary ancestors remains uncertain; some propose they were calcareous algae, possibly belonging to the order Dasycladales.