Product Description
This is a fantastic display collection of six Triassic Ceratites sp. ammonites from Germany. Two of the six are naturally split and show a glimpse of rare, 3D internally preserved structures that are unique to Triassic ammonites. The remaining four are whole and complete with classic Triassic outer chamber anatomy detail. Displayed in the included large glass display case, they make for a highly educational demonstration of the uniqueness of Triassic ammonites which are typically scarce, compared to more readily available ammonites from earlier as well as later time periods. Each has been cleaned in our lab to reveal detail on both sides.
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. This ammonite preferred warm, shallow seas of depths less than 100 meters.
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!
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