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- Nov 19, 2002
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Nipponites mirabilis was certainly one of the weirdest ammonites as can be seen from the link and the picture. It demonstrates possibly the most extreme derivation from the classic spiral shell shape amongst all of the ammonoidea, even amongst the heteromorphs. It looks like an irregular tangle of whorls but is really just an interconnecting mass of U-bends
It was a very late ammonite, it lived in the late Cretaceous and has been found in Hokkaido, Japan, and in North America implying it had a very widespread distribution. It has been speculated that this ammonite lived in the surface waters drifting at a shallow depth and feeding on plankton. The ‘head’ was probably angled downwards as it seized small animals with its arms. Given the shape of the shell it must have been a poor swimmer and probably had a lifestyle similar to a jellyfish. The animal must have rolled as it grew and probably had a changing orientation as it developed.
Good choice, Kevin.
(I love the way people always pick the weirdest animals!)
It was a very late ammonite, it lived in the late Cretaceous and has been found in Hokkaido, Japan, and in North America implying it had a very widespread distribution. It has been speculated that this ammonite lived in the surface waters drifting at a shallow depth and feeding on plankton. The ‘head’ was probably angled downwards as it seized small animals with its arms. Given the shape of the shell it must have been a poor swimmer and probably had a lifestyle similar to a jellyfish. The animal must have rolled as it grew and probably had a changing orientation as it developed.
Good choice, Kevin.
(I love the way people always pick the weirdest animals!)