Description
Genuine Hildoceras bifrons Ammonite Fossil
This listing is for a genuine Hildoceras bifrons fossil ammonite from the Beacon Limestone, Jurassic, collected from Ilminster, Somerset, UK. This carefully chosen fossil has been selected for its natural character, scientific interest and display appeal. The photo shows the actual specimen you will receive, so you can buy with confidence knowing the exact fossil supplied. Full sizing and scale details can be seen in the photo.
Your specimen was discovered by our own team members, Alister and Alison, and has been carefully cleaned, prepped and treated by Alison. It is supplied with a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card, confirming that this is a genuine fossil specimen suitable for collectors, educational displays, fossil cabinets, natural history collections and geology gifts.
About Hildoceras bifrons
Hildoceras bifrons is one of the most recognised and collectable ammonites from the Early Jurassic seas. Ammonites were extinct marine cephalopods, related to modern squid, octopus and nautilus, but they lived within a coiled, chambered shell. The living animal occupied the final outer chamber, while the internal chambers helped regulate buoyancy as it moved through the ancient marine environment.
This species was originally described as Ammonites bifrons by Bruguière in 1789 and is now placed in the genus Hildoceras. It belongs to the family Hildoceratidae, within the superfamily Hildoceratoidea and the order Ammonitida. Hildoceras bifrons is particularly important in palaeontology because it is closely associated with the Bifrons Zone, an important ammonite biozone of the Toarcian Stage of the Lower Jurassic.
Shell Form and Identifying Features
Hildoceras bifrons is admired for its classic ammonite shape and distinctive ornamentation. Typical examples show a planispiral coiled shell with clearly defined whorls, strong ribbing across the flanks and a recognisable outer edge. Many Hildoceras specimens display a lateral groove or sulcus along the whorl, giving the shell a particularly distinctive appearance and helping separate the ribbing into characteristic zones.
The species name bifrons, meaning “two-fronted” or “double-faced”, reflects the distinctive visual character of the shell. The combination of elegant coiling, rib detail and historic scientific importance makes Hildoceras bifrons a popular ammonite for fossil collectors and an excellent example of Jurassic marine life.
Beacon Limestone and Jurassic Age
This specimen comes from the Beacon Limestone, a fossiliferous Jurassic limestone unit known from the Ilminster area of Somerset. The Beacon Limestone has produced a variety of marine fossils, including ammonites, belemnites, bivalves and brachiopods, preserving evidence of the ancient sea that once covered this part of Britain.
Hildoceras bifrons is associated with the Lower Jurassic Toarcian Stage, around 182 to 174 million years ago. Ammonites from this time are especially useful to geologists because they evolved rapidly and were widely distributed across ancient seas, allowing rock layers to be dated and compared across different regions.
Ilminster, Somerset Fossil Locality
Ilminster, Somerset is a classic British Jurassic fossil locality with a long-standing association with ammonites and other marine fossils. During the Jurassic Period, this region lay beneath warm marine waters where carbonate-rich sediments accumulated on the seabed. These sediments later hardened into limestone, preserving the remains of marine animals that lived and died in those ancient seas.
Fossils from Ilminster are valued for their British provenance, geological significance and connection to the historic fossil-bearing rocks of southwest England. This Hildoceras bifrons ammonite offers a direct link to that ancient marine world, making it a desirable specimen for anyone interested in British fossils, Jurassic ammonites, palaeontology or natural history.
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