Orthoceras - Fossilised animal - 26 cm - 27 cm

Beautiful display plate with several Orthoceras specimens from Morocco. These marine animals were among the first living forms to inhabit the planet. Discovery in the northwest Sahara.

Orthoceras are extinct cephalopod mollusks, belonging to a group now extinct. These marine creatures lived in the oceans hundreds of millions of years ago, mainly during the Ordovician and Silurian periods. Their name, in Greek meaning “straight horn,” refers to the characteristic shape of their conical and elongated shell. This shell was divided into chambers, separated by septa, and traversed by a siphon.

The Orthoceras shell is probably their most distinctive feature. It consisted of aragonite, a mineral that also forms the shells of many present-day mollusks. Over time, and under the influence of geological processes such as sedimentation and mineralization, these shells fossilized, giving rise to the specimens we admire today.

Orthoceras fossils are precious witnesses to marine life of a bygone era. Studying them allows scientists to reconstruct ancient ecosystems, understand the evolution of species, and better comprehend the major changes that have marked Earth's history.
***Display stand not included