Two Iridescent Ammonites (Psiloceras) - England

This plate contains three brilliantly iridescent ammonites (Psiloceras planorbis, largest 2.2" wide) from England. Their naturally iridescent shells display some beautiful blues, greens, and fiery oranges. Like most fossils from the Blue Lias Formation, these ammonites have been compressed and flattened by the same geological processes of heating and pressure, forming this iridescence. This beautiful piece comes with an acrylic display stand.

Ammonites were predatory cephalopod mollusks that resembled squids with spiral shells. They are more closely related to living octopuses, though their shells resemble that of nautilus species. True ammonites appeared in the fossil record about 240 million years ago during the Triassic Period. 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