The beautiful spiral shells of these long-extinct marine invertebrates
are among the most sought after and recognizable of fossils, yet little
has been published about ammonites outside of geological journals. Neale
Monks and Philip Palmer look at the latest ideas on ammonite biology and
ecology to present this detailed picture of a once diverse and
widespread group of animals.
Though an ammonite looks like a nautilus, the animal inside the shell
was most closely related to today's octopus, squid, and cuttlefish. The
authors describe the evolution of ammonites and their relatives and
explain how they created their shells and used them as flotation
devices. All the major groups of ammonites are described and illustrated
(as are many minor ones), and important material is included on anatomy,
feeding, reproduction, and pathology.
The 300-million-year existence of ammonites ended at around the same
time that dinosaurs became extinct. Fortunately, ammonites were once so
abundant that their fossilized shells can be readily found, and the
authors provide a helpful guide to locating and collecting these unique
fossils.