Western Europe, Stuttgart, Germany, Holzmaden Black Shale Formation, Jurassic period, ca. 200 million years ago. A massive and exquisitely preserved stone slab that contains pyritized ammonite fossils! The matrix is unbroken and completely intact with ammonites on both sides of this slab as shown. The ammonites are naturally colored by their mineralization during the fossilization process, and the glimmering golden hues vary in intensity, but overall are well-pronounced in these fossils! The ammonite species shown here are large Harpoceras examples surrounded by smaller Dactylioceras ammonites. This specimen is perfect for either a collector of unusual and impressive fossil specimens or for a memorable centerpiece for interior design to accent a room with one of nature's most beautiful prehistoric masterpieces! You would be hard-pressed to not find this specimen anything less than breath-taking! Size (largest ammonite): 8.75" L (22.2 cm); (matrix): 36" L x 27" W (91.4 cm x 68.6 cm)
Specimens like this are now becoming quite rare as almost all large-scale quarrying operations in the formation have ceased. It is likely, Holzmaden fossils of exceptional quality and size like this lovely example will appreciate in the future as demand far outstrips supply. Holzmaden is a highly unique formation, famous for producing some of the world's finest Jurassic marine life fossils. Some of the largest dinosaurs that ever walked the earth were in existence when this ammonite swam in the ancient seas alongside massive plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.
Provenance: ex-private German collection, formed in the 1970s
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#172845
Condition
Original material, no repairs or restoration. The ammonites and slab sealed with protective coating.