Black Ammonite

About Black Ammonites

Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca, shelled cephalopods similar to the nautilus. This black variety, asteroceras, comes from Peru, and is dated around 350 million years.

The name ammonite is derived from the Egyptian god Ammon, due to the resemblance of the shell to ram horns, which were associated to this divinity.

Ammonites have been collected since prehistoric times. They became extinct at the end of the cretaceous period. The main hypothesis regarding the global mass extinction that happened at that time involves an asteroid collision, which would have halted photosynthesis and had a major impact on food availability for ammonites and dinosaurs alike, leading to their disappearance.