Description
Genuine Mantelliceras sp. Ammonite Fossil from Balcombe Pit, Glynde
This is a genuine Mantelliceras sp. ammonite fossil from Balcombe Pit, Glynde, East Sussex, UK, dating to the Middle Cenomanian Stage of the Upper Cretaceous. This carefully chosen fossil represents an authentic British chalk ammonite from the ancient Cretaceous seas that once covered southern England around 95 million years ago. With its classic coiled form, East Sussex locality, and strong geological setting, this specimen is an excellent addition to a fossil collection, ammonite display, educational geology set, or natural history cabinet.
The photograph shows the actual fossil specimen you will receive. Full sizing can be seen in the photo. This fossil also includes a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card, giving confidence that it is a genuine specimen and a carefully selected piece for collection, display, study, or gifting.
Fossil Type and Identification
Mantelliceras sp. is an ammonite, an extinct marine cephalopod related to modern squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus. Ammonites lived inside coiled, chambered shells. The animal occupied the final outer body chamber, while the earlier internal chambers helped regulate buoyancy, allowing it to move through the water column of the Cretaceous sea.
The genus Mantelliceras belongs to the order Ammonitida and the family Acanthoceratidae, a major group of Cretaceous ammonites known for strong ribbing, bold shell ornament, and in many forms, raised tubercles or nodular features. These characteristics make Mantelliceras fossils highly recognisable and very desirable among collectors of British chalk fossils and Upper Cretaceous ammonites.
As this fossil is identified as Mantelliceras sp., it has been confidently assigned to the genus, while the exact species has not been specified. This is common with fossil ammonites where natural preservation, matrix, compression, surface wear, or partial exposure may limit species-level identification. The genus itself remains scientifically meaningful and collectable, especially when combined with a clear locality and geological age.
Middle Cenomanian Upper Cretaceous Age
This ammonite dates to the Middle Cenomanian, an important interval within the early part of the Upper Cretaceous Period. The Cenomanian was a time of warm climates, high global sea levels, and widespread marine environments across Europe. During this stage, southern Britain lay beneath a shallow epicontinental sea, where carbonate-rich sediment accumulated on the sea floor and later became part of the famous English chalk succession.
Ammonites such as Mantelliceras are especially important in Cretaceous geology because they evolved rapidly and were widely distributed through ancient marine basins. Their distinctive shell forms allow geologists to use them as guide fossils for dating and correlating chalk, marl, limestone, and other marine deposits. A Middle Cenomanian ammonite from East Sussex therefore represents both an attractive fossil specimen and a useful marker of a specific interval in Earth history.
Balcombe Pit, Glynde Geological Setting
Balcombe Pit at Glynde in East Sussex is associated with the fossil-bearing Upper Cretaceous deposits of southern England. The Glynde area lies within the classic chalk landscape of East Sussex, part of a region famous for its Cretaceous marine rocks, chalk pits, and long history of geological collecting. These deposits record the ancient chalk sea, a warm marine environment rich in microscopic calcareous plankton, ammonites, and other sea life.
The Middle Cenomanian sea supported a varied ecosystem including ammonites, nautiloids, bivalves, brachiopods, echinoids, sponges, fish, and marine reptiles. Mantelliceras would have lived as a free-swimming cephalopod, using its chambered shell to control buoyancy while moving through the water. After death, the shell could settle onto the sea floor, become buried in chalky or marly sediment, and fossilise over millions of years.
Morphology and Display Features
Mantelliceras ammonites have the classic coiled shell form that makes Cretaceous ammonites instantly recognisable. The shell is planispiral, forming a flat spiral with whorls that expanded as the animal grew. Depending on preservation, this fossil may show strong ribs, whorl shape, shell ornament, chamber detail, raised tubercles, natural chalk matrix, mineral staining, and surface texture.
The ribbed ornament of Mantelliceras gives the fossil a bold and sculptural appearance. These ribs helped strengthen the shell and are important features used in ammonite identification. Natural matrix, colour variation, shell wear, compression, chalky texture, and small surface imperfections are all part of the fossil’s genuine geological character and show its long history of natural preservation.
Certificate of Authenticity Included
This Mantelliceras sp. ammonite fossil is a genuine specimen and includes a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card. It has been selected as an individual fossil, with the photograph showing the exact specimen supplied rather than a stock image.
With its Middle Cenomanian age, Balcombe Pit, Glynde, East Sussex locality, and classic Mantelliceras identification, this fossil is a desirable piece for collectors of British fossils, Upper Cretaceous ammonites, chalk fossils, marine cephalopods, and authentic prehistoric natural history specimens.
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