Description
Ammonite paracoroniceras charlesi 41.5cm across approx weight 28kilos
These are almost certainly the most sought after Ammonites, from Lyme Regis. This specimen is from the Lower Jurassic period and is therefore approx. 200 million years old. This is a very large specimen and these days they are incredibly difficult to find. This exceptionally large specimen is of superb quality and certainly the best one we have ever had for sale. The preparation work alone would have taken a number of days. This specimen would take pride of place in any UK fossil collection either private or for a museum. It is from the lower lias, Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset.
Monmouth Beach stretches from the Cobb at Lyme Regis for a mile to Pinhey Beach. This beach gets its name from the Duke of Monmouth who landed here in the year 1685. This area occasionally produces some superb specimens, but very few of this exceptional quality. Removing the concretion is a highly skilled and labour intensive process. This requires a substantial amount of preparation work. The back of the Ammonite, has been left in its natural state, with the grey concretion still in place. This is a fine example of the Ammonite paracoroniceras charlesi and is of exceptional quality. An Ammonite that would inevitably be the centrepiece of any fossil collection.
Ammonites have been extinct for 65 million years. They are a form of Cephalopod, a group of marine molluscs. Ammonites were plankton feeders, with long tentacles, and swam upright. Altogether, there were in the region of four thousand different species. Ammonites became extinct 65 million years ago, at the same time as the dinosaurs. Although Ammonites themselves have long been extinct, the squid and octopus that swim in our seas now, are closely related. Ammonites range in size from 1mm wide up to metre across. They swam in the shallow tropical seas that existed in this area millions of years ago. Apart from these Jurassic Coast ammonites, see others listed under Ammonites.
