Description
Somerset Ammonite Hildoceras 7cm across
This lovely Somerset ammonite hildoceras is another excellent example from the Somerset Junction Beds. The Ammonite itself measures 7cm across at the widest point with exceptionally fine detail right to its very centre and some visible suture lines. This ammonite would make an ideal display piece and a wonderful addition to any collection. It has been lightly varnished giving it an attractive sheen. The South Somerset Junction Beds (now referred to as ‘The Beacon Limestone Formation’) are an extension of the fossil rich areas of Dorsets famous Jurassic Coast. This area inland from the jurassic coast between South Petherton & Ilminster was once a shallow sea. This specimen is approximately 185 million years old, dating from the Lower Jurassic period.
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 to over a 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.
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