RARE COMPLETE CRETACEOUS NAUTILUS FOSSIL WITH MORTAL INJURY FROM
THE UNITED STATES Jonah Formation - North Central Texas, USA
PERIOD (MIDDLE SANTONIAN STAGE) : 85 - 84 million years ago
While not an ammonite, this creature is a member of the ammonoid
family hence, the listing in this section. It is really quite an
interesting specimen of a Cretaceous nautilus species called
Eutrephoceras campbelli and is the first nautilus of this type
and formation we have ever offered. It is also the only example
we have to offer so it is indeed, a unique What makes it
especially desirable is the mortal injury the fossilized shell
displays - two massive cracks from being crushed when alive. The
disarticulation of the shell can be seen with two cracks that
would have proved fatal to the creature. It is highly likely
this was crushed in the jaw of a predator such as a mosasaur.
When alive, the cracked shell would have still been held intact
by internal tissue and looked just as it does in the position it
is in now. (The disar