Ammonite Fossil
Only the shell of this Fossil Ammonite is preserved, all the soft parts have rotted away.
The Ammonite animal would have lived at the end of the coiled shell. It would have looked a bit like a squid with a large eye and many tentacles.
Ammonites were molluscs. Othe molluscs include snails, clams, squid, octopus and cuttlefish.
Ammonites, like squid, could move backwards using jet propulsion.
This ammonite is from the beginning of the Jurassic Period, and is 195 million years old.
More about Ammonites
Ammonites are cephalopod molluscs, like squid and octopus. Cephalopod means ‘head-footed’ because the head and the typical mollusc foot form a single organ. Cephalopods are the most advanced molluscs. They are intelligent animals with large eyes and are voracious predators.
Ammonites have a coiled shell. The name ammonite comes from the Greek god Ammon, who had a rams head with coiled horns. Ammonites look a like the coiled horns on Ammon’s head.
The scientific, or Latin Genus, name for this ammonite is Coroniceras. This well-preserved specimen can be seen on display at the Warwickshire Museum.
This Ammonite was collected from Dorset, on the south coast of England. It was collected by members of the Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological Society during the nineteenth century. It is now stored and displayed in Warwickshire Museum.
Want to know more?
To find out more about ammonites, download the Resources to your right.
This Ammonite is part of the collections held at Warwickshire Museum in Warwick. Use the ‘Warwickshire County Council’ web link below to find out more about the Collections in Warwick.
This ammonite has been cut in half to see what the inside is like. To find out more, click on the image above
Nautilus is a living coiled mollusc. Find out more about Nautilus by clicking on the image above
