Puzosia Ammonite Pair 158mm

A Puzosia Ammonite now cut precisely in two decorative halves forming a matched pair, these polished to a high standard, revealing the fascinating interior of shell growth, the chambers which over millennia have filled with naturally forming minerals and crystals of quartz and calcites of the Cretaceous period. The colours and crystalline growth to this fossil shell are exceedingly attractive. The chambers of quartz spiralling and diminishing in size reflecting the growth of the young cephalopod ammonoid from the smallest central chamber to adult the last outer whorl and largest chamber.

An excellent specimen cephalopod, as the soft tissues broke down the remaining cavity filled with gases and sediments which under the perfect environment of pressure and temperature created the marvellous coloured minerals and crystal growth we see today. The forming crystals having a gem effect which glistens in light, each faceted crystal face juxtaposed, not only giving a sparkle of colour, also giving the partially open chambers a wheel effect, as the chamber walls the of the septa are picked out in a cream calcite.

Ammonites are part of the Ammonitida of marine invertebrates. These were fascinating creatures from the deep oceans and believed to be aggressive creatures like squids today. With extremely large eyes and remarkable vision they could easily hunt on their prey at great depths where little or no light penetrates the deep oceans. The Cephalopod would attain its prey using their long tentacles, prey such as other crustaceans and fish, much as the persisting modern day Nautilus Pompilius which can be found in the Pacific today.

A few years ago off the Great Barrier reef at depths between 200 to 400 meters, sightings of the Nautilus Pompilius were made, showing the pressures these Cephalopods can attain. The Ammonites extinction is dated around 74 million years, pre the great mass extinction of around 65 million years. Ammonites are important Index Fossils, it is often possible to link the sediment layer in which they are found to specific geological time periods. The largest ammonite to date is around 2.5 meters in diameter from Germany.

This Cleoniceras derives from the mesozoic era, Cretaceous dating back to 75 million years and found in the Mahajanga jungle, Madagascar, Africa.

A selection of our high quality excavated Cleoniceras Ammonites from Madagascar. These have been prepared and cut in half, revealing the wonders of mineralisation which takes place over millions of years. Each chamber has been replaced with calcite, quartz and fossil sediments, read the full description below…