This is a very nice Orthoceras Standing Plaque from Morocco. The large plaque has a beautiful array of both Orthoceras and Geisonoceras fossils that have been cut, carved and polished from Fossil Rock material to expose them. The Geisonoceras fossil measures approximately 7 ½” in diameter while the Orthoceras fossil measures approximately 9” in length. This interesting plaque measures approximately 18” x 18” x 6 ½” deep. It has a unique shape adding to the unmatched character and weighs nearly 28 pounds. A very nice Orthoceras Plaque that makes an excellent display item. A little history: Cephalopod nautiloids date back to the Early Ordovician Period almost 500 mya and survived to the Late Triassic about 230 mya. Some believe they even survived through the Cretaceous about 150 mya. Their fossilized shells are often discovered all around the world in large assemblages and commonly occur in marine rock, especially limestone. There are several types of which two are preserved in the sample here. They include Goniatites are hard to identify, because they can easily be mistaken for Ammonites, Gastropods or Nautiloids. Goniatites are in the Ammonoid family (Mollusc). Goniatites evolved at the same time as the Nautilus, however they were not as successful as a Nautilus; most Goniatites were extinct by the Mississippian period. They also include Orthoceras (Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda) lived from the early Ordovician 495 million years ago) until the Triassic Period which ended 206 million years ago so the species was around for about 300 million years! Very similar to Belemnites in shape. Orthoceras was carnivorous possibly even preying on trilobites and would have swum in the ocean or crawled on the sea floor. They ranged in size from a few inches to over 14 feet and their soft bodies lived in the last open-ended segment of their shell. The name orthoceras means "straight horn". It is the long conical shell that the animal lived in that is preserved as a fossil.

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