10.5" Tall, Composite Ammonite Fossil Sculpture

Tall, Composite Ammonite Fossil Sculpture #120703

This is a very aesthetic cluster of 110 million year old ammonite and gastropod fossils from the Mahajanga Province of Madagascar. The entire piece measures 10.5" tall, 8.2" wide and weighs about 8 lbs. Several of the ammonite fossils appear to have been composited onto the rock, but it's a beautiful display piece. The largest ammonite on the piece is 4.1" across. Many of the ammonites display the distinctive suture patterns of the inner shell, while others show the iridescent outer shell. This specimen also contains an unidentified welk (snail).

Ammonites were predatory mollusks that resembled squids with shells. These cephalopods had eyes, tentacles, and spiral shells. Though their shells resemble that of a nautilus, they are actually more closely related to living octopuses. Ammonites appeared in the fossil record about 240 million years ago, barely surviving several major extinction events. The last lineages disappeared 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous.

Artist's reconstruction of an ammonite, by Nobu Tamura

More about ammonites