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CERATITES AMMONITE - Upper Muschelkalk Formation - Elm (Schoningen), Germany TRIASSIC PERIOD: 230 million years ago For the ultimate in uniqueness to compliment any advanced collection of ammonites, this Ceratites spinosus specimen offers both a unique provenance AND time period from which it once lived. While most ammonites possessed smooth or ribbed shells, some varieties as in this example, featured spiny ornamentation to their shells. This dramatic feature of the Ceratites spinosus explains the name and is well-defined in this specimen. Color is a warm, gray gold and chamber detail is clearly visible as shown above. This is a nice example of this species and offers a unique opportunity for an ammonite collector to augment their collection with a spiny specimen from a lesser common geological period - the Triassic. This ammonite preferred warm, shallow seas of depths less than 100 meters.Approximately 230 million years ago during the Triassic Period, vast areas of Germany were covered with a flat inland sea. Through the geological periods, this ancient seabed fossilized into hard, shelly limestone layers. Embedded in the Upper Muschelkalk rock, we find the Ceratites ammonites with their classic four-lobed chamber structures visible in the fossils. Additional lobes are sometimes seen in larger ceratites but this is simply a division of the umbilical lobe (closest to center). The Ceratites with its four-lobe chambers is a unique ammonite to the Triassic. No ammonite collection should be without fine examples of Triassic ammonites from the order Ceratitina (or Ceratitidae). These unique cephalopods were the first types to evolve from more primitive ammonites and show a much more complex suture line, shell shape and external features. Dinosaurs were just beginning to emerge on our planet when this ammonite was alive! CLASSIC TRIASSIC AMMONITE BUT RARE SPECIES THAT POSSESSED SPINY ORNAMENTATION! 3" in width SOLD AM26-001 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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