- Joined
- Jun 29, 2003
- Messages
- 22
Hello all,
A couple of years back an artist by the name of Chris Taylor contacted me via Wikipedia about ammonite soft body parts. I outlined some of my ideas and those of others, but as many of you probably know, this is a contentious area because so little hard evidence exists.
In any case, Chris sent me some samples of his ammonite keychain ornaments, and I thought I'd share. They are made from pewter and the shell part is about the same size as a UK pound coin.
Among the things worth looking at closely is the shell, which is quite nicely modelled with a loop-and-buckle system of branched ribs. The head has an octopus-style eye with a vertical pupil. The aptychus is modelled as a two-part trapdoor resting above the head in the same way as the operculum of a nautilus. There are just a few thick arms, like modern coleoids, rather than the numerous thin arms typical of nautilus. All in all, it's a neat piece of work, and I'm proud to have helped, albeit in a small way. Pricing is on the A-to-Zoo web site.
Cheers, Neale
A couple of years back an artist by the name of Chris Taylor contacted me via Wikipedia about ammonite soft body parts. I outlined some of my ideas and those of others, but as many of you probably know, this is a contentious area because so little hard evidence exists.
In any case, Chris sent me some samples of his ammonite keychain ornaments, and I thought I'd share. They are made from pewter and the shell part is about the same size as a UK pound coin.
Among the things worth looking at closely is the shell, which is quite nicely modelled with a loop-and-buckle system of branched ribs. The head has an octopus-style eye with a vertical pupil. The aptychus is modelled as a two-part trapdoor resting above the head in the same way as the operculum of a nautilus. There are just a few thick arms, like modern coleoids, rather than the numerous thin arms typical of nautilus. All in all, it's a neat piece of work, and I'm proud to have helped, albeit in a small way. Pricing is on the A-to-Zoo web site.
Cheers, Neale
