Orthoceras - Fossilised animal - 20 cm (No Reserve Price)

Beautiful large slab with several specimens of Orthoceras from Morocco. These marine animals were among the first living forms to inhabit the planet. Discovery in northwestern Sahara.
Orthoceras are extinct cephalopod mollusks belonging to a now vanished group. These marine creatures lived in the oceans hundreds of millions of years ago, mainly during the Ordovician and Silurian periods. Their name, which in Greek means '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 siphuncle.
The shell of Orthoceras is probably their most distinctive characteristic. It was made of aragonite, a mineral that also forms the shells of many modern 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 valuable witnesses to marine life from a past era. Their study allows scientists to reconstruct ancient ecosystems, understand the evolution of species, and better comprehend the major changes that have marked Earth's history.