Doug Smith Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 I'm looking at buying an iridescent ammonite for my project. It's not cut in half. I'm having trouble finding out if the iridescent color goes completely through the fossil and displays it on the cut side. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Photo of one is attached. Thanks, Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 It doesn't go all the way through. These are often colourful inside, but not iridescent. The colours you can see there are the result of the compacted original shell material, which has then been polished. The shell layer is very thin - underneath it, you have the sutures, and then the calcite-filled shell chambers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Smith Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 Thanks for the quick response. Now all I have to do is figure out how to use the colorful side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douvilleiceras Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 The nacre on these shells is responsible for the iridescence. Since there is no nacre inside the shell, cutting it in half will only yield chambers replaced by other minerals, such as calcite. Yet, I've seen plenty of interesting minerals in these Madagascar Ammonites, including an unusual pink mineral in a Cleoniceras that now resides in my collection. 1 Regards, Jason "Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies to label them as either ‘primitive’ or ‘unsuccessful’? Men have so far survived half a per cent as long." - Richard Fortey, Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 relevant? metzlnacmola7daf4a740aa760893ee9929cbc.pdf 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvie Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 That would make a beautiful paper weight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Stunning colour! John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Nice colors anyway. What kind of a project are you planning for this? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Just an idea. Thats a real beauty ya got there! RB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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