Spectacular Mineral & Crystal Suppliers

 Edinburgh
 

All our Fossils are 100% Genuine Specimens 


Specimen: Superb Fossil Orthoceras Nautiloid
Polished Plaque / Bed on Matrix 

Age: Cretaceous 

Location: Madagascar

Size: 191mm x 179mm x 28mm

THIS IS THE ACTUAL FOSSIL YOU WILL RECEIVE
FREE HIGH QUALITY ACRYLIC FOSSIL STANDS INCLUDED

DESCRIPTION:
This unusually large, lovely fossil plaque consists of 5 polished orthoceras / nautiloids on a natural relief matrix. The careful polishing displays the amazing colourful and crystalline internal chambers of the fossils. The colouration is spectacular and this is a really rare and attractive piece which displays well in either landscape or upright format.

It will come with a complimentary, high quality acrylic mineral / fossil stand. We have photographed a yellow, 1cm square cube along with some grapes in some of the pictures to give you an idea of the sheer scale of this magnificent piece. These Orthoceras make beautiful display pieces, and are highly sought after. Orthoceras are one of the most recognisable fossils around. 

A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ORTHOCERAS:
Orthoceras was an ancient mollusc that lived more than 400 million years ago. The name means straight horn, referring to the characteristic long, straight, conical shell. The preserved shell is all that remains of this ancestor of our modern-day squid.The soft body lived in the last open-ended segment at the large end of the conical shell. As the body grew and the housing segment became too small, a dividing wall, called the septa, grew to separate the old “home chamber” from the new one. The differences in the composition of these shell parts allowed for differences in fossilisation so the parts can be seen.

The siphuncle is a tube that runs the entire length of the shell, through each of the chambers. This tube had two functions. Once filled with water, the nautiloid could force the water out, propelling itself backward with a kind of jet propulsion. By releasing the water and leaving air space, the tube could serve as a buoyancy device allowing the animal to rise and lower itself to different depths. These straight shelled nautiloids ranged in size from less than a centimetre to more than 14 feet long!

All the living relatives of these nautiloids, squid, octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus are predators, and we can assume that orthoceras was also a hunter of the Paleozoic seas, possibly having trilobites for breakfast!