2.4" Iridescent, Pyritized Ammonite (Quenstedticeras) Fossil Display

Iridescent, Pyritized Ammonite (Quenstedticeras) Fossil Display #244931

This is an interesting and colorful pyritized ammonite (Quenstedticeras sp.) display. The ammonite was collected from the Middle Jurassic age deposits along the banks of the Volga River near Saratov, Russia. It has been mounted to this section of iridescent pyrite ("rainbow pyrite") encrusted rock to create this alluring display.

The rock is a piece of septarian concretion that was collected near Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. These concretions occur in clays that have undergone shrinkage, where cracks will appear at the center following dehydration. Septarian concretions often contain calcite, though in some cases they can contain pyrite. The iridescence of the pyrite is natural, only adding to the beauty of this stunning specimen.

The entire specimen is 2.4" wide and the base of the rock has been cut flat for presentation.

Ammonites were predatory mollusks that resembled a squid with a shell. These cephalopods had eyes, tentacles, and spiral shells. They are more closely related to a living octopus, though the shells resemble that of a nautilus. True ammonites appeared in the fossil record about 240 million years ago. The last lineages disappeared 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous.

What an ammonite would have looked like while alive.

More about ammonites