Crioceras Nolani Alpes de Haute-Provence, France Cretaceous, Hauterivian, 129-132 million years 35 x 34 x 6 cm Provenance: Italian private collection Ammonites are an extinct group of cephalopods that were very rich in form. There are 1500 known genera of ammonites. Thanks to their variety of forms ammonites are a popular collectors item. Their shell - rolled up in the manner of a logarithmic spiral - recalls that of a snail, but this is not the case with all ammonites. The species Crioceras Nolani has a flat, spiral shell, where no coil is in contact with the other. Why this shape developed in this way is unknown. Possibly this species lived in the benthic zone at the lowest level of the sea, so there was no need for a shell suitable for swimming in this species. The spines decorating the animals shell served as protection for the ammonite, which was either sedentary or could only move slowly on the sea floor. The specimen presented here has wonderful and long spines and is a masterpiece of modern palaeontology. STACHELIGER AMMONIT Crioceras Nolani Alpes de Haute-Provence, France Kreidezeit, Hauterivium, 129 bis 132 Millionen Jahre 35 x 34 x 6 cm Ammoniten sind eine ausgestorbene Gruppe der Kopffüsser, die sehr formenreich war. Es sind 1500 Gattungen der Ammoniten bekannt. Dank ihrer Formvielfalt sind Ammoniten ein beliebtes Sammelobjekt. Meistens erinnert ihr – nach Art einer logarithmischen Spirale – aufgerolltes Geh?use an eine Schnecke, aber das ist nicht bei allen Ammoniten der Fall. Die Art Crioceras Nolani hat eine flache, spiralf?rmige Schale, bei der keine Windung mit der anderen in Kontakt kommt. Weshalb diese Form so entstanden ist, ist unbekannt. M?glicherweise lebte diese Art in der benthischen Zone auf der untersten Ebene des Meeres, deshalb bestand bei dieser Art kein Bedürfnis nach einer zum Schwimmen geeigneten Schale. Die Stacheln, die das Geh?use des Tieres verzieren, dienten als Schutz des Ammoniten, der entweder sesshaft war oder sich nur langsam auf dem Meeresboden bewegen konnte. Das hier pr?sentierte Exemplar weist wunderbare und lange Stacheln auf und ist eine Meisterleistung modernster Pal?ontologie.notes:*
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