Description
Consider what had to happen for this specimen to exist. Whitby’s Jurassic shales have yielded ammonites since the Anglo-Saxon era — local legend turned them into petrified snakes (they lacked the heads, so locals carved them on). The pyritized Hildoceras bifrons specimens, 180 million years old, show the ribbed sutures that distinguish each ammonite genus. Yorkshire’s coast is actively eroding, releasing new specimens each winter storm.
This specimen originates from Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, one of the world’s most significant localities for this type of material. Collectors and scientists have drawn from this region for generations, and for good reason: the combination of geological conditions here produces specimens of exceptional quality and clarity.
Every specimen is unique. Photographs approximate the visual experience, but the real thing — its weight, its luster under a raking light, the way it catches the corner of your eye — can only be experienced directly.
