This is the "Fossil Friday" post #144. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected]. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!
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Ammonites are extinct cephalopods molluscs, related to modern day squids and octopuses. They lived during the Mesozoic Era between about 200 to 66 million years ago. For the most part, they went extinct during the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period. A few species did survive in to the Paleocene in North America's Western Interior Seaway. Unfortunately, even those eventually died out. Before the extinction, ammonites were very common, with upwards of 10,000 species existing during their time on Earth.
Snakestones, which are ammonites carved to look like a coiled snake with a head, came primary from two regions of England, Whitby in Yorkshire and Keynsham in Somerset. Ammonites are common at both localities.
John Catalani, ESCONI's resident molluscan expert, send along these photos of a specimen he received during the holidays from a fellow ESCONI member, who knew he would appreciate the tradition and artistry of one of these fossil artifacts. Thanks for sharing, John!
Label
Upper Lias, Lower Jurassic
Ammonite from Whitby,
North Yorkshire, England:-
Dactylioceras communeCommune Subzone,
Bifrons Zone,
Upper Lias, Lower Jurassic,
Kettleness, Nr. Whitby,
North Yorkshire, England
180 Million Years Old
Description
A SNAKESTONE
British Literature from as early as the 16th Century records that Stones are to be found on the shore at Whitby in Yorkshire that reveal stony serpents but generally without their heads'
English folklore tells of the legend of Saint Hilda of Whitby. (614-680 AD) the Saxon Abbess of the town who cleared the area of snakes by severing their heads with her whip and throwing the remains over the cliffs.
To perpetuate the legend local craftsmen have for centuries carved Snakestones on to the local Fossil Ammonites. An extinct form of shellfish that swam in an ancient Jurassic sea during the time of the dinosaurs, 185 million years ago.
Snakestones have been recorded from at least Viking times and in Medieval England were prized for medical purposes and as charms.
THIS IS A GENUINE FOSSIL AMMONITE. FOUND AND CARVED AT WHITBY, YORKSHIRE. FOLLOWING A TRADITION SOME 1000 YEARS OLD.
Specimen Photos
