3" Mammites Nodosoides Ammonite Fossil Shell Upper Cretaceous Age Morocco

Location: Jbel Toubkal, Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Weight: 6.3 Ounces

Dimension: 3 Inches Long, 2.4 Inches Wide, 1.1 Inches Thick

This is a real fossil

Upper Cretaceous, 80 Million Years Old

The items pictured are the ones you will receive. 

Mammites Nodosoides Ammonite

Ammonites were an extinct group of marine mollusks belonging to the subclass Ammonoidea, within the class Cephalopoda—the same group that includes modern squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. These fascinating creatures flourished throughout the Mesozoic Era, especially during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, spanning roughly 140 million years—from about 201 million years ago until their extinction around 66 million years ago.

Their disappearance coincided with the mass extinction event that also wiped out the dinosaurs, likely triggered by a combination of catastrophic factors such as asteroid impact, volcanic activity, and dramatic climate changes. Today, ammonite fossils serve as important index fossils, helping scientists date and understand ancient marine environments and evolutionary history.

Ammonites are easily recognized by their distinctive coiled shells, which varied greatly in size, shape, and ornamentation. Their shells were divided into a series of chambers separated by thin walls called septa. The living organism resided only in the outermost chamber, known as the body chamber, while the inner chambers were filled with gas or fluid to maintain buoyancy control. The complex suture patterns formed where the septa met the shell wall are a defining characteristic and serve as a crucial tool for classifying ammonite species and genera.

The ammonite shell had multiple vital functions—it protected the animal from predators and helped it float and maneuver efficiently in the water column.

Ammonites were active carnivores, preying on small plankton, crustaceans, and other marine organisms—possibly even smaller ammonites. They had tentacle-like arms for seizing prey and sharp, beak-like jaws, much like their modern relatives, squid and octopuses. Fossil evidence suggests that ammonites were swift, agile swimmers, thriving in warm, shallow seas rather than the deep ocean, contributing richly to the marine ecosystems of their time.

Their evolutionary history shows a remarkable diversity; over 10,000 species have been identified from fossil records found globally. Ammonites evolved rapidly over geological time scales, making them excellent index fossils for dating rock layers due to their short geological lifespan.

This distinguished Mammites nodosoides specimen exemplifies the pinnacle of ammonite evolution. Tracing their ancestry to the primitive straight-shelled nautiloids of the Devonian period, ammonites underwent profound morphological transformations, developing increasingly elaborate shell geometries with refined suture patterns that facilitated sophisticated buoyancy regulation. These remarkable cephalopods demonstrated extraordinary resilience, persisting through multiple mass extinction episodes, notably the catastrophic Permian-Triassic event, before their ultimate demise during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction 66 million years ago. This 3-inch Moroccan fossil encapsulates the culmination of hundreds of millions of years of adaptive refinement—a testament to nature's capacity for both innovation and inevitable extinction.

This final extinction is believed to have been triggered by a massive asteroid impact that drastically altered global climates and disrupted food chains in marine ecosystems.