GOLD PYRITE DACTYLIOCERAS AMMONITE GROUP ON BLACK HOLZMADEN SHALE

Holzmaden Black Shale Formation (Lias Epsilon) - Stuttgart, Germany

JURASSIC PERIOD:  200 million years ago

From the world-renown Black Jurassic oil-bearing shale of Holzmaden, Germany comes this exquisitely preserved MASS DEATH ASSEMBLAGE fossil shale slab featuring Dactylioceras species ammonites.  Holzmaden is a highly unique formation famous for producing some of the world's finest Jurassic marine life fossils.  Modern quarry efforts have failed to produce many specimens like this that were once found in greater frequency many years ago.  If you wish to accent a room with one of nature's most beautiful prehistoric masterpieces, then this fossil would really set off any interior.  The ammonites display an original shell that the fossilization process has naturally replaced with stunning golden pyrite - a feature that is so HIGHLY-prized.  This gold tone on the fossil is COMPLETELY GENUINE AND NATURAL formed millions of years ago. 

No doubt, this is a GRADE 10 specimen in every way!  The layer that this fossil slab is on indicates a catastrophic event that resulted in the death of a large number of ammonites together and at once.  The ammonites possess exquisite chamber ridge detail much better than the above photos indicate.  This wonderful shale specimen would be truly impressive to display.  This beauty has NO RESTORATION OR FABRICATION!  This magnificent specimen is not only valuable for its superb fossil quality and preservation but it possesses immense architectural value when used in any interior setting.  Much nicer in person than appears above.

Some of the largest dinosaurs that ever walked the earth were in existence when these ammonites swam in the ancient seas alongside massive plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs! 

Ammonites are extinct members of the Cephalopod class.  Modern members include nautilus, squid and octopus.  They first appeared during the Silurian Period (435 million to 410 million years ago) and were abundant and widespread in the seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (175 million to 65 million years ago).  Ammonites are important index fossils—that is, they often link the rock layer in which they are found to specific geological time periods.

Ammonites varied greatly in size.  The largest known as small as 2 cm (0.75 in) in diameter.  During the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, ammonites evolved more streamlined shells for swimming and the structure of the shell became stronger.  Different shell shapes emerged as well, such as snail-like or uncoiled.   

The shells of ammonites had hollow chambers separated by walls called septa.  A tube called the siphuncle, connected the body with the chambers allowing the animal to fill them with water or air, changing its buoyancy in order to rise or drop in the ocean.  Only the last and largest chamber was occupied by the living animal.  

Ammonites probably lived for one to six years, with the majority living two to four years.  They fed on plankton (tiny free-floating organisms), sea lilies, and smaller orthoceras.  Although many fed off the ocean floor, others may have caught plankton while floating or swimming via jet propulsion, expelling water through a funnel-like opening to propel themselves in the opposite direction.

Because ammonites lived exclusively in marine environments, their presence also indicates the location of prehistoric seas.

CHOICE QUALITY DISPLAY FOSSIL OF JURASSIC AMMONITES PRESERVED IN NATURAL GOLDEN PYRITE ON BLACK SHALE!

16.5" x 15.25" overall

$225     AMX-121     INCLUDES STAND     Actual Item - One Only

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