Posidonia Shale,
Found in Holzmaden area, Germany
Lower jurassic, c. 180 mio. years
A rectangular slab of shale mit fossil ammonite to be used as a tabletop
Dimensions (plate): 65 x 149 cm
Very good condition
Provenance: Private collection, Germany
Ammonites are regarded as index fossils, whose phenotypic alterations serve to determine the age of the surrounding rock formations

‘Ammonites’, also ‘Ammonoidea’, are an extinct species of invertebrate animals that were particularly rich in shape and type. They populated the seas from the Lower Devonian to the end of the Cretaceous period, covering around 350 million years. In general, the outer shell of an adult ammonite measured, with a few exceptions, between 1 and 30 cm in diameter. Fossilized ammonites were discovered rather late in history due to their inclusion in rock formations. Only in 1884 the first findings were documented, so that it can be assumed that they were not originally represented in a historical Wunderkammer of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Their technical term is borrowed from ancient writings of Pliny, who described fossils of snails as ‘Ammonis cornua’.

Condition:
The fossil is in very good, age-related condition. The plate partly with smaller chips. The dimensions of the plate are 65 x 149 cm. (lvp)

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