LARGE GOLDEN PYRITE LYTOCERAS AMMONITE ON BLACK 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 large and well-presereved Lytoceras trautscholdi species ammonite.  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.  Specimens like this are now becoming quite rare as almost all large-scale quarrying operations in the formation have ceased. Holzmaden is a highly unique formation, famous for producing some of the world's finest Jurassic marine life fossils.  This specimen is perfect for either a collector of unusual and impressive fossil specimens or for an memorable centerpiece for interior design.  Highly recommended to accent a room with one of nature's most beautiful prehistoric masterpieces as this would really set off any interior.  NO RESTORATION OR FABRICATION. 

This is a very large Lytoceras ammonite from Holzmaden with the finest preservation and orientation on its original slab.  The entire ammonite is complete and possesses dense, original gold pyritization to the shell imprint that is so HIGHLY-prized.  This gold tone to the creatures on the slab is COMPLETELY GENUINE AND NATURAL, formed by mineralization as the fossil was formed millions of years ago.  The slab has been chemically sealed to protect and permanently stabilize this rare feature.  Immense architectural value when used in any interior setting.  

Some of the largest dinosaurs that ever walked the earth were in existence when this Lytoceras ammonite 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.

GORGEOUS NATURAL SPECIMEN WITH DARK GOLDEN PYRITE JURASSIC AMMONITE - ARCHITECTURAL PIECE! 

14" x 10.25", ammonite 7.25" wide

$495     AMX-124     INCLUDES STAND     Actual Item - One Only

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