1.05" Cretaceous Fossil Heteromorph (Scaphites) Ammonite - Utah

Cretaceous Fossil Heteromorph (Scaphites) Ammonite - Utah #266724

This is a really cool heteromorph ammonite (Scaphites whitfieldi) fossil collected from the Dragon Valley Mine in Emery County, Utah. Unlike most ammonites that lived in tightly coiled, spiral shell that retains their shape throughout the cephalopod's life, heteromorph ammonites have irregularly-coiled or uncoiled shells. These hetermorph ammonites are from a Late Cretaceous-aged deposit. They are similar to the species Scaphites whitfieldi but based on a conversation with ammonite expert Neal Larson, they probably represent a new, undescribed species.

The ammonite has been painstakingly exposed from the hard mudstone surrounding it. The rock also contains a variety of shell fragments and straight cephalopods. 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.

$235

SPECIES

Scaphites cf. whitfieldi

AGE

Late Cretaceous