Fossil display at National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian, National Mall, Washington, D.C.
Ammonites
Timeline: Jurassic / Cretaceous Period (256-65 Million years ago)
Maximum size: 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) in diameter
Predator advantage: tentacles, large beak
Likely prey: Fishes, mollusks, arthropods
Ammonites became extinct around the end of the Cretaceous period. They lived between 240 and 65 million years ago. Ammonite fossils are the most commonly found though famous for the ribbed spiral form it exhibits in the record. Not every deadly predator was a sleek swimmer with a deadly grim. Ammonites, distinct Mesozoic relatives of modern squid, hunted from within the safe haven of a protective shell, like that of a modern nautilus. Many tentacles reached out to pull prey toward its powerful beak.
Folklore:
Medieval interpretation of the ammonite was that they were petrified snakes called “snakestones” and attributed as evidence of St. Hilda and St. Patrick’s banishing of snakes from Ireland. Merchants at this time would often carve the face of a snake in the empty end of the fossil to sell as charms.
Display marker at National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian, National Mall, Washington, D.C.
Ammonite Mermaid Statue: http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=24127. January 1, 2014: A quiet New Year’s Day in Clongriffin/Malahide, Ireland. Chronicles 3: Walking with the Ancestors – http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=15579. Winter 2013/2014: Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Cian – the Prince of Endurance. Photography (c) 2014, 2015: Thomas Baurley, Eadaoin Bineid, Leaf McGowan, Technogypsie Productions. www.technogypsie.com/photography/. To follow the stories and tales visit http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/ and http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/. Malahide: Chronicles 3: Walking with the Ancestors
http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=15579.
Ammonite Mermaid Statue: http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=24127. January 1, 2014: A quiet New Year’s Day in Clongriffin/Malahide, Ireland. Chronicles 3: Walking with the Ancestors – http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=15579. Winter 2013/2014: Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Cian – the Prince of Endurance. Photography (c) 2014, 2015: Thomas Baurley, Eadaoin Bineid, Leaf McGowan, Technogypsie Productions. www.technogypsie.com/photography/. To follow the stories and tales visit http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/ and http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/. Malahide: Chronicles 3: Walking with the Ancestors
http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=15579.
