Orthoceras fossil, Morocco

A polished fossil orthoceras from Morocco, mounted in a silver coloured base.  Orthoceras are extinct relatives of ammonites and modern day nautili, squid and octopi. They had a straight chambered shell which is what is shown as the light grey on this fossil, with darker material marking the divisions between the chambers and the surrounding matrix.

Specimens occur up to six feet in length, so this is well in scale for a 1:12 or 1:6 setting. At a mineral show I saw a polished specimen about five feet in length just being carried out by its new owner, no bubble wrap or anything.  I hope it arrived at its new home safely!  The contrasting black and white of this fossil is very decorative.

9/16 inch (1.4 cm) wide, 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) deep, 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) tall.