Monday, May 21, 2007

My Ammolite Fossil


This is my ammolite fossil which I obtain it few months ago.

Here is some brief profile of this miracle.

Ammonites are extinct marine mollusks related to the modern squid, octopus and Chambered Nautilus from 70 million years ago. Under certain conditions, the nacreous shell becomes highly iridescent; the resulting gemlike material is called "ammolite."

Ammonite fossil shells are of particularly beautiful spiral forms. The ammonite’s shell contained a spiraling progression of ever-larger chambers divided by thin walls called septa. The animal only occupied the last and largest chamber. A thin living tube called a siphuncle passed through the septa, extending from the ammonite's body into the empty shell chambers.

The ammonite secreted gas into these shell chambers, enabling it to regulate the buoyancy of the shell. As the ammonite grew, it added newer and larger chambers toward the larger open end of the coil. They existed from 420 million years ago till the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago.

1 comment:

Vincent said...

Hi,

Nice ammonite you have there.

how much you bought it and where did you buy it from ? I wish to get one too..very beautiful.

Cheers !
Vince