Description
Ammonite titanites giganteus from Portland, Dorset 55cm
This huge ‘ribbed’ titanites giganteus ammonite is from the Portland freestone, Portland Bill, Dorset. This is the largest example we have ever had for sale. The condition and detail are superb and it has had pride of place in a private collection for the past 28 years. This would undoubtedly make a stunning display piece for an interior designer or serious fossil collector. These titanites giganteus ammonites are from the tithonian stage of the upper jurassic period and approximately 150 million years old. Specimens like this are almost impossible to obtain these days, modern quarrying methods often result in severe damage to any fossils. Years ago these large fossilised carnivorous ammonites were seen in the gardens or built into the walls of cottages in the Portland or Purbeck regions of Dorset. These cottages were often the homes of quarrymen or stonemasons. Due to the weight (approximately 45 kilos) this ammonite is for collection only from our workshop in West Dorset.
Ammonites have been extinct for 65 million years. They are a form of Cephalopod, a group of marine molluscs. These first appeared in the Devonian Period, over 4oo million years ago. As the ammonite grew it added new chambers to the shell, the actual ammonite only living in new and largest chamber. The name Ammonite, derives from from ‘Ammon’ the Greek God. Ammonites were plankton feeders, they also had long tentacles, and swam upright. Altogether, there were in the region of ten thousand different species. Ammonites became extinct 65 million years ago, which was also around the same time as the dinosaurs. The squid and octopus that swim in our seas now however, are closely related. Back to Jurassic Coast Fossils
