Arietites bucklandi
Lower Jurassic
France
This beautiful and enormous example of the Arietites sp. ammonite has been preserved in superb condition and prepared with the utmost care; the result is a specimen with excellent detail to the ridges of the shell and even a patch where the fern-like suture lines of the shell's growth structure are visible. The strong black color makes for an excellent contrast with the gray stone matrix, on which it stands upright. An excellent display piece, of uncommonly large size and condition for this species, it measures an impressive 20 1/2 inches tall. Ammonites are of central importance to the study of paleontology in that they provide a reference for determining the age of certain sedimentary rocks, and are often used for reconstructing ancient marine assemblages as well as examples in the study of evolutionary biology. They became extinct mysteriously at the end of the Cretaceous period, approximately 65 million years ago, along with the dinosaurs.