TAN AND GOLD POLISHED FREE-STANDING DEVONIAN GONIATITE

Atlas Mountain Range, South Morocco

DEVONIAN PERIOD:  395 - 345 million years ago

This beautiful fossil goniatite is a member of the ammonite family and lived nearly 400 million years ago.  It is quite an aesthetic example.  The beautiful spiral pattern of zigzag septa of the fossilized shell is it's hallmark.  THE LINES ARE NATURAL, not artificial.  Over millions of years, the septa lines have filled with calcite, the whitish gray mineral in the stone.  Self-standing and polished on both sides, these early ammonites make for an impressive display.  Such a fossil is impressive when incorporated into any interior design application, home or office.  An excellent gift, educational specimen or conversation piece.
 

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.

AN ATTRACTIVE FOSSIL TO GRACE ANY COLLECTION OR AS AN EXQUISITE INTERIOR ACCENT!

5.35" across

SOLD     AMX-127     Actual Item - One Only

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