TITANIC NEARLY 3 FOOT SLICED AND POLISHED AMMONITE FROM THE JURASSIC PERIOD WITH INNER CHAMBER DETAIL

Tulear, SW Madagascar

LATE JURASSIC PERIOD (TITHONIAN):  150.8 - 145.5 million years ago

As THE largest ammonite we have ever offered, this is a remarkable showpiece fossil.  It is a MASSIVE Perisphinctid type ammonite that has been sliced and polished to reveal the inner chamber detail, some of which are hollow.  The mesmerizing spiral runs finely preserved all the way to the very center and even tiny center chambers are hollow and crystal-lined as seen in the last photos.  At the moment of this listing, we are offering separately for sale, the other half of this incredible ammonite.  You can see that specimen here at AMX265. 

We pondered offering them together and frankly, both displayed together would make one phenomenal sight but many may not wish to own both so we offer them separate.  One idea is that both could be displayed together on a wall with custom-fabricated steel armature or stand.  Another idea is to only use one and incorporate it into a table base with a circular glass top laying over the fossil.  The back side is polished and ground smooth and the entire ammonite is stable and strong.  Some chambers required reinforcing and stabilization but as a whole, the entire specimen is incredibly well-preserved for such a large size and when viewing the other half here AMX265, one can see the corresponding chambers and patterns on the other sliced side. 

Madagascar ammonites are typically the size of a drink coaster or small tea-cup saucer.  This monster is larger than a truck tire.  Usually, large ammonites become destroyed or distorted in the fossil record because of their giant size easily becoming crushed in burial under pressure.  Any large ammonites that approach this dimension are ULTRA RARE but ones that retain inner chamber detail like this are one-in-a-million.  A rare specimen and as breath-taking and beautiful as it is rare. 

 At a fraction of the price of modern art and yet, this is the "real deal".  A genuine, authentic remnant of a monster of the ancient sea.

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.

LARGEST AMMONITE WE HAVE EVER OFFERED!!!

STUNNING SYMMETRICAL CHAMBER DETAIL WITH SOME VARIOUS CHAMBERS ALL THE WAY TO THE CENTRUM

33.5" across

SOLD     AMX264     Actual Item - One Only

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