Liparoceras Ammonite Fossil Jurassic Blockley UK COA Marlstone Rock Formation

Description

Genuine Liparoceras Ammonite Fossil from Blockley Brickworks, Gloucestershire

A genuine Liparoceras ammonite fossil from the famous Blockley Brickworks locality in Gloucestershire, UK, collected from the Marlstone Rock Formation of the Lower Jurassic. This attractive British ammonite dates to the Pliensbachian Stage, specifically the Ibex Zone, making it approximately 190 million years old. The specimen is a carefully chosen fossil, with the photograph showing the actual piece you will receive.

This fossil comes with a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card, giving reassurance that it is a genuine geological specimen suitable for fossil collectors, educational use, display, or as a distinctive natural history gift.

Fossil Type and Species Information

Liparoceras is a well-known genus of Lower Jurassic ammonite, especially recognised for its robust, ornamental shell form. Ammonites were extinct marine cephalopods related to modern squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus. They lived in ancient seas and are highly valued by collectors because their coiled shells preserve a detailed record of Jurassic marine life.

Liparoceras ammonites are particularly distinctive due to their strong ribbing, rounded whorls, and often tuberculate or spiny shell ornamentation. These features would have strengthened the shell and may also have helped with hydrodynamics or defence. The genus belongs to the ammonite family Liparoceratidae, within the superfamily Eoderoceratoidea, and the order Ammonitida. Liparoceras was originally established by the palaeontologist Alpheus Hyatt, whose work helped define many important ammonite groups.

Geology and Age

This specimen comes from the Marlstone Rock Formation, a Lower Jurassic geological unit known for its iron-rich, calcareous sedimentary rocks. The formation is famous across parts of the English Midlands and Cotswolds for producing marine fossils, including ammonites, belemnites, bivalves, brachiopods, and other invertebrates.

The fossil is from the Pliensbachian Stage of the Lower Jurassic, within the Ibex Zone. Ammonite zones such as the Ibex Zone are extremely useful in geology because ammonites evolved rapidly and were widely distributed in Jurassic seas. This makes them excellent index fossils for dating rock layers and correlating strata between different locations.

Blockley Brickworks Locality

Blockley Brickworks in Gloucestershire is a classic British Jurassic fossil locality. The area exposes rocks laid down in a shallow marine environment during the Early Jurassic, when much of what is now Britain was covered by warm epicontinental seas. The sediments of the Marlstone Rock Formation represent ancient seabed deposits, where shells and marine remains accumulated before being buried, compacted, and fossilised over millions of years.

Fossils from Blockley are popular with collectors because they combine strong British provenance with excellent Jurassic geological context. Ammonites from this area are especially desirable as representative examples of Early Jurassic marine life from the Cotswolds region.

Morphology and Display Features

Liparoceras ammonites are admired for their bold shell shape and decorative ribbing. Depending on preservation, specimens may show the coiled whorl structure, rib patterns, rounded shell profile, and traces of the original chambered shell. These chambers once helped the living ammonite control buoyancy as it moved through the Jurassic sea.

This fossil makes an excellent display piece for a cabinet, study, fossil collection, educational tray, or natural history display. Its well-documented formation, age, zone, and locality make it especially appealing to collectors who appreciate accurately labelled British fossils.

Certificate of Authenticity and Specimen Details

This is a genuine Liparoceras ammonite fossil from the Marlstone Rock Formation, Lower Jurassic, Pliensbachian, Ibex Zone, collected from Blockley Brickworks, Gloucestershire, UK. It includes a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card.

Full sizing can be seen in the photo. The fossil shown is the actual specimen you will receive, making this a carefully selected and accurately represented piece of British Jurassic natural history.