1.1" Discoscaphites Ammonite - South Dakota

This is a small Discoscaphites conradi ammonite specimen from the Fox Hills Formation of South Dakota. It's been wonderfully prepared from the hard concretion it was found in. It has a great opalescent shell preservation with hues of pinks and greens when the light catches it right.

These 70 million year old ammonites lived when South Dakota was a shallow inland sea. It was found preserved in a concretion that was split open. It then had to be hand prepared to remove the hard rock surrounding it from the shell, a very time consuming task.