Ammonite
Species: Various How old are they? 120-65 million years (Jurassic - Cretaceous)

What are they?
Ammonites are an extinct group of fast-swimming sea creatures.

They were related to our modern day cuttlefish, squid, nautilus and octopus.

With many tentacles and well developed eyes ammonites preyed on fish and crustaceans.

Their large eyes probably helped them to hunt at night or in deep water where there is little daylight.


Where are they found?

Ammonites are found as fossils in rocks that were deposited in the ocean from all over the world.

The Ammonites in Junior Geo's Rock Shop and online shop come from Madagascar.

 

Below are some of the different species of ammonites that you will find in Junior Geo's Rock Shops.
Perisphinctes
Nautilus
Phylloceras
Cleoniceras
Desmoceras
Douvilliceras

 

The largest ammonite fossil ever found was nearly 3 metres across!

 


Ammonites became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 million years ago.


Most people believed their extinciton was caused by a meteorite that crashed into the Earth near Mexico killing most of the life on Earth - including the dinosaurs.


Have you ever wondered what life might be
like if the meteorite had missed out planet...?

 

...Perhaps the dinosaurs and ammonites might still be around today!

Myths and Legends

Ammon - the God
Ammonites are named after the Egyptian god called Ammon.

The whorled structure of ammonite shells resemble “The Horns of Ammon” who was represented as having the horns of a ram on his head.

The "Horns" of Ammon

Ammonites at Whitby, UK
People used to believe that ammonites were headless snakes coiled around their tails.

This gave rise to the name "snakestone" for ammonite fossils.

There is a story about an Anglo-Saxon Abbess called St. Hilda who lived between 614 and 680 AD.

She planned to build a monestary near the town of Whitby in Yorkshire.

The propsed site on top of a cliff was believed to be cursed and overrun by snakes.

St. Hilda is said to have cut off the heads of the snakes and thrown them over the cliffs.

Perhaps this is where the fossil ammonites to be found at Whitby came from?

St. Hilda cutting off the heads of snakes in Whitby
 
Crampstones:
Some people in the Scottish Isles used to believe that ammonites were a good cure for cramp in cattle.

The affected area was washed with special water that had been soaked with ammonites for several hours.

Cure cramp in cattle - soak ammonites in water


Ammonite fossils or Salagramas as they are known play a very important part in Hindu culture.
They are kept in temples and households.