Phylloceras heterophyllum Ammonite Fossil Cretaceous France Genuine COA Card – Cenomanian Sète Hérault Collector Specimen

Description

Phylloceras heterophyllum Ammonite Fossil from Sète, Hérault, France

This is a genuine Phylloceras heterophyllum ammonite fossil from the Upper Cretaceous, Upper Cenomanian, collected from Sète, Hérault, France. This carefully chosen fossil is an attractive European marine cephalopod specimen, selected for its natural fossil character, geological interest, and display appeal. It is supplied with a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card, making it a trusted addition to an ammonite collection, fossil cabinet, educational geology display, natural history collection, or prehistoric gift selection.

The photograph shows the actual fossil specimen you will receive. Full sizing and scale can be seen in the photo.

Geological Age and Locality

This ammonite dates to the Upper Cenomanian stage of the Upper Cretaceous, approximately 95 million years old. The Cenomanian was a time of high global sea levels, warm climates, and widespread shallow marine environments across Europe. Much of southern France was influenced by ancient seas connected to the western Tethys Ocean, creating favourable conditions for the preservation of ammonites and other marine fossils.

The locality of Sète in Hérault, France lies within a region known for Mediterranean sedimentary geology. During the Cretaceous, this area formed part of a marine setting where carbonate muds, marls, and limestones accumulated on the sea floor. These deposits preserve evidence of a rich marine ecosystem that included ammonites, bivalves, gastropods, echinoids, fish, and other ancient sea life.

Fossil Type and Species

This specimen is identified as Phylloceras heterophyllum, an extinct ammonite species. Ammonites were marine molluscs related to modern squid, cuttlefish, octopus, and nautilus. Unlike most living cephalopods, ammonites possessed a hard external shell divided into internal chambers. The living animal occupied the final outer body chamber, while earlier chambers helped regulate buoyancy as the animal moved through the water column.

Phylloceras belongs to the phylloceratid ammonites, a group known for elegant coiled shells and complex suture patterns. These ammonites are often associated with open marine environments and are recognised for their refined shell forms rather than heavy ornamentation. Their fossils are highly valued by collectors because they combine scientific importance with classic ammonite beauty.

Morphology and Notable Features

Phylloceras ammonites are typically recognised by a smooth to finely ornamented, compressed, planispiral shell. The whorls are commonly rounded to oval in section and may partly overlap earlier whorls, producing a neat, balanced spiral form. Unlike strongly ribbed ammonites, Phylloceras is often appreciated for its cleaner shell profile, elegant outline, and subtle natural surface detail.

A notable feature of phylloceratid ammonites is their complex leaf-like suture pattern. Sutures mark the contact between the internal chamber walls and the outer shell, and in phylloceratids they can be highly folded and decorative. These intricate patterns are one of the reasons the group is scientifically distinctive and collectable.

As a genuine fossil, this specimen may show natural matrix, mineralisation, shell surface texture, fossil colour variation, weathering, small chips, cracks, or areas of wear caused by fossilisation and geological history. These natural features are part of the fossil’s authenticity and individual character. The photo shows the exact fossil being offered, allowing the buyer to view the preservation, size, condition, and display quality before purchase.

Cretaceous Marine Environment

This Phylloceras heterophyllum ammonite lived in a warm Cretaceous sea that covered parts of southern France during the Upper Cenomanian. These marine environments supported a diverse ecosystem of swimming cephalopods, seabed invertebrates, fish, and other marine organisms. Ammonites were active swimming or drifting animals, likely feeding on small prey using tentacles.

After death, the ammonite shell settled onto the sea floor, where it could become buried by sediment. Over millions of years, mineralisation, compaction, and geological change transformed the shell into a fossil. This specimen is a direct link to the marine world of the Upper Cretaceous, when dinosaurs lived on land and ammonites remained among the most successful animals in the oceans.

Authenticity and Collectability

This Phylloceras heterophyllum ammonite fossil is a genuine specimen from Sète, Hérault, France, dating to the Upper Cenomanian of the Upper Cretaceous, and includes a Certificate of Authenticity lifetime guarantee generic card. It is suitable for collectors of French fossils, Cretaceous ammonites, marine cephalopods, European fossils, natural history specimens, educational geology pieces, and display fossils.

The fossil shown in the photo is the actual specimen you will receive.