Mantelliceras Ammonite on Bronze Stand 170mm

An attractive smaller bookshelf curiosity the Mantelliceras ammonite set onto our in-house designed bronze mount which has been expertly surmounted and presented to display the piece in a classically sculptural aspect, which can be easily removed from the bronze cradle stand and handled for the closer study. A revitalised prehistoric fossil shell excavated from the heart of North Africa and prepared in our studio here in the North West of England.

History; An ammonite specimen of the ammonoid group excavated in the high Anti-Atlas Range of northwestern Morocco, preserved by the fortunate circumstances of fossilisation in the sedimentary layers of Africa. Conservation has removed the matrix which once held the cephalopods shell. Cephalopod was a mollusc, an ancient relative of the Octopi and nautili which still persist today. Prepared to a scientifically and aesthetically appealing standard. The colour is derived from natural staining in the fossil beds. This is often removed when the ammonites are prepared in Morocco.

The marine creatures once abounded in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Oceans of the world, part of the larger group of the Ammonoidea. The reign of the ammonites ranged from about 410 million years ago up to a mass extinction event around 74 million years ago. Believed to be aggressive creatures, with a superb vision they could easily hunt at night and at great depths where little or no light penetrates the deep oceans. The only known surviving cephalopod is the Nautili, persisting in the Indopacific oceans of today.

Ammonites of enormous proportions are found in the Western Anti Atlas of Morocco, The Peninsula of Tamri, province of Agadir has been a very good source for fossil discoveries, however, they are becoming scarce as the valleys that once yielded good quantities for collectors do so no longer.