Pyritized ammonite
Fossil
Also called Pyrite ammonite
Take care.
- Breaks down in damp air: Keep it dry and in steady humidity; some crumble or rot as they take on moisture.
About it
Small ammonites turned to brassy pyrite, well known from Charmouth in Dorset and the Volga region of Russia. Pyrite decay can crumble them to a white powder, so keep them dry.
- Type
- Fossil (mollusc)
- Group
- Cephalopod (mollusc)
- Lustre
- metallic
- Colours
- brassy gold, bronze, iridescent tarnish
- Transparency
- opaque
- Periods
- Jurassic, Cretaceous
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.