{"product_id":"orthoceras-plate-fossil-statement-specimen","title":"Orthoceras - Plate - Fossil Statement Specimen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocality:\u003c\/strong\u003e Morocco\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEra:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paleozoic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis one-of-a-kind orthoceras plate is a tall section of dark fossil limestone with long, straight cone-shaped shells exposed in relief across its face. The shells run up the plate in overlapping spears, polished to a glossy black, and several have been opened along their length so you can see the pale, ladder-like rows of chambers inside. Between the fossils, the matrix has been worked back with a chisel, leaving a rough, stippled grey and white surface that sets off the polished shells, so the piece reads as both a raw rock and a finished display.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOrthoceras is the trade name for the straight-shelled nautiloid cephalopods, distant relatives of today's nautilus and squid, that swam in Paleozoic seas several hundred million years ago. Each animal lived in the last, largest chamber of its tapering shell and used the empty chambers behind it, linked by a thin tube called the siphuncle, to control its buoyancy. When the animals died, their shells settled into lime mud on the sea floor, which hardened into the dark limestone you see here, and the shells themselves were replaced by calcite over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCalcite is fairly soft, so keep the polished face away from grit and harsh cleaners, and dust it with a soft dry cloth. Many straight-shelled fossils sold as orthoceras belong to related orthocone nautiloid genera rather than the strict genus Orthoceras, which is why the name is used here as a trade name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChemical Composition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fossil nautiloid shells replaced by calcite (CaCO₃) in limestone\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMohs Hardness:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTreatment:\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural\/None (cut and polished)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMetric:\u003c\/strong\u003e Height 30.5 cm · Width 12.25 cm · Depth ?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImperial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Height 12.0 in · Width 4.8 in · Depth ?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuantity:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1pc\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWith this product, you will receive the actual piece shown in the photographs. We do our best to offer quality products and price them honestly. Please keep in mind that colours and details may appear slightly different in person due to lighting, photography, and screen settings, but we do our best to represent each piece accurately.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Morocco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67788608209066,"sku":null,"price":100.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/7158\/3658\/files\/orthoceras-tower-statement-fossil-specimen-01.jpg?v=1793372845","url":"https:\/\/rubblerockandgem.com\/it\/products\/orthoceras-plate-fossil-statement-specimen","provider":"Rubble Rock And Gem","version":"1.0","type":"link"}