Orthoceras and goniatite on display stand - Fossilised animal (No

Beautiful plate with several specimens of Orthoceras and goniatites from Morocco. These marine animals were among the first living forms to inhabit the planet. Found in the northwestern Sahara. Orthoceras are extinct mollusk cephalopods, belonging to a group now gone. These marine creatures lived in the oceans hundreds of millions of years ago, mainly during the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods. Their name, in Greek meaning “straight horn,” refers to the characteristic conical, elongated shape of their shell. This shell was divided into chambers, separated by septa, and traversed by a siphon. The Orthoceras shell is probably their most distinctive feature. It consisted of aragonite, the mineral that also forms the shells of many living mollusks. Over time, 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 precious witnesses of marine life from a bygone era. Studying them allows scientists to reconstruct ancient ecosystems, understand the evolution of species, and better comprehend the major changes that have marked Earth's history. ***Display stand included***

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