Eogaudryceras Numidum Ammonite Fossil Cretaceous Madagascar COA Aptian Maintirano Upper Aptian Genuine Jurassic Sea Fossil

Description

Genuine Eogaudryceras cf. numidum Ammonite Fossil from Maintirano, Madagascar

This is a genuine Eogaudryceras cf. numidum ammonite fossil from Maintirano, Madagascar, dating to the Upper Aptian of the Cretaceous Period. Madagascar is world famous for its beautifully preserved Cretaceous ammonites, and specimens from the Maintirano region are especially desirable for collectors because they represent marine life from the ancient seas that once bordered the western margin of the island. This carefully chosen fossil is supplied exactly as shown in the photo, so the specimen pictured is the actual fossil you will receive. Full sizing can be seen in the photo.

This fossil includes a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card, making it a collectable and display-worthy specimen for fossil enthusiasts, ammonite collectors, geology students, natural history displays, and anyone interested in prehistoric marine life.

Fossil Type and Identification

Eogaudryceras cf. numidum is an ammonite, an extinct marine cephalopod related to modern squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus. Ammonites lived inside coiled, chambered shells. The animal occupied the outer body chamber, while the internal chambers helped regulate buoyancy, allowing the ammonite to move through the water column of the Cretaceous sea.

The use of cf. in the name means the specimen compares closely with Eogaudryceras numidum, while allowing for cautious identification where preservation, natural variation, or visible diagnostic features may affect a precise species assignment. This is a respected scientific convention and is often used for fossils that show strong similarity to a named species.

Eogaudryceras and Ammonite Features

The genus Eogaudryceras belongs to a group of lytoceratid ammonites known for elegant coiling, rounded whorls, and fine shell ornament. These ammonites generally have a more open, graceful shell form compared with many heavily ribbed or strongly tuberculate Cretaceous ammonites. Their shell shape reflects a successful marine cephalopod lifestyle, with the coiled shell providing both protection and buoyancy control.

Eogaudryceras ammonites are valued by collectors for their natural symmetry, pleasing spiral form, and scientific interest. Depending on preservation, specimens may show fine growth lines, delicate ribbing, whorl detail, shell texture, natural mineral colour, matrix, or signs of geological compression. These features are part of the fossil’s authentic character and show its long history of burial, mineralisation, and preservation.

Upper Aptian Cretaceous Age

This fossil dates to the Upper Aptian, a stage within the Early Cretaceous often broadly associated with Upper Cretaceous-style ammonite faunas in older collection labels. The Aptian is approximately 125 to 113 million years old and represents a time when global sea levels were high and marine ecosystems were widespread across many parts of the world.

During the Aptian, the seas around Madagascar supported a rich variety of marine life, including ammonites, nautiloids, belemnites, bivalves, gastropods, echinoids, fish, and marine reptiles. Ammonites were among the most important animals in these ecosystems and are especially useful to palaeontologists because their rapid evolution and wide distribution make them excellent guide fossils for dating marine rock layers.

Maintirano, Madagascar Geological Setting

Maintirano, on the western side of Madagascar, is known for fossil-bearing Cretaceous marine sediments. During the Cretaceous, Madagascar had already separated from parts of Gondwana and was surrounded by warm marine waters connected to the developing Indian Ocean. These ancient seas created favourable conditions for the burial and preservation of ammonite shells in marine sediment.

The sediments that preserved ammonites such as Eogaudryceras were deposited on the sea floor as muds, silts, sands, marls, and limestones, depending on the local environment. After death, the ammonite shell could settle onto the seabed, become covered by sediment, and gradually fossilise over millions of years. Natural colour variation, surface texture, mineral staining, shell wear, matrix attachment, and small imperfections are all part of the specimen’s genuine geological history.

Collectable Display Fossil with Certificate of Authenticity

This Eogaudryceras cf. numidum ammonite fossil is an attractive and scientifically interesting specimen for collectors of Cretaceous ammonites, Madagascar fossils, cephalopods, marine fossils, and natural history specimens. Its Maintirano locality, Upper Aptian age, and graceful ammonite form make it a desirable addition to a fossil cabinet, educational display, teaching collection, or decorative natural history arrangement.

The fossil is a genuine specimen and includes a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card. The photograph shows the actual specimen supplied, making this a carefully selected individual fossil rather than a stock image.