Amaltheus Ammonite Fossil Jurassic Pliensbachian Lozère France COA

Description

This listing is for the exact Amaltheus sp. ammonite fossil shown in the photographs. The specimen comes from Lozère in the Occitanie region of southern France and is preserved in rocks of Pliensbachian age from the Lower Jurassic. The Pliensbachian Stage lasted approximately from 192.9 to 184.2 million years ago, placing this fossil in an ancient marine world that existed long before the familiar dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic.

Amaltheus is a classic Pliensbachian ammonite genus and an important representative of the family Amaltheidae. These extinct cephalopods had coiled, chambered shells and were related to living squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses. The living animal occupied the final body chamber. Earlier chambers were connected by a siphuncle and helped regulate buoyancy, allowing the ammonite to move through the water column.

Members of Amaltheus are often recognised by their compressed, discoidal shells, strong ribbing and a prominent keel around the outer edge of the whorl. Preservation varies naturally from specimen to specimen, and the visible features on this fossil should be assessed from the supplied photographs. The shell form and ornamentation of ammonites changed rapidly through geological time, which makes them especially useful for dating and correlating marine sedimentary rocks.

During the Pliensbachian, the region now forming southern France was influenced by warm shallow seas connected to the western Tethys Ocean. Fine marine sediments accumulated on the sea floor and sometimes buried ammonite shells before they were broken up or dissolved. Over millions of years, mineral-rich groundwater and compaction transformed those sediments into rock while preserving evidence of the original animal. Fossils from Lozère therefore provide a tangible record of Jurassic marine ecosystems in what is now inland France.

Ammonites such as Amaltheus are widely used as index fossils. Their relatively rapid evolution, broad geographical distribution and abundant hard shells allow palaeontologists to divide Jurassic rocks into detailed intervals. Amaltheus is particularly associated with parts of the Pliensbachian and is consequently valuable in biostratigraphic studies across Europe. This documented geological and locality information gives the specimen educational and scientific interest beyond its decorative appeal.

Please study all photographs carefully. They show the actual fossil that will be supplied, not a stock image. The images are an essential part of the condition description and reveal the specimen’s colour, texture, visible shell detail, completeness and any natural rock matrix. Full sizing is shown in the photographs, so please use the scale or measurements there when deciding whether it suits your collection or display.

This is a genuine fossil specimen and will be accompanied by our generic certificate of authenticity with a lifetime authenticity guarantee. Keep the certificate and locality information with the fossil, because this documentation preserves its provenance and collecting value. The piece will be packed carefully for transit.

An Amaltheus ammonite from the Lower Jurassic of France is an excellent addition to a Jurassic fossil collection, an ammonite study set or a natural-history display. It can also serve as an engaging teaching specimen for shell morphology, marine evolution, biostratigraphy and the changing geography of Europe through deep time. The fossil pictured is the precise specimen you will receive.