Heteromorphic Ammonites

Heteromorphic Ammonites are a type of coiled shelled cephalopods that lived in our oceans and seas during the Mesozoic Era. They are related to living modern octopus and squid species. On land, the Mesozoic was the age of dinosaurs but in the oceans it was another story. In the oceans, enormous marine reptiles like the ichthyosaur, the mosasaur and plesiosaur ruled. They, along with Mesozoic sharks and other fish, were the dominant predators of these ancient seas. A Heteromorphic Ammonite would have been potential prey to these large predators. Camouflage its large size and a body heavily armored inside a spiked shell helped protect the ammonite.

Heteromorphic Ammonite is actually a sculpture of a particular type of heteromorph called crioceratites. Crioceratites had an open spiral shell that featured symmetrical patterns of increasingly large spines radiating around the shell. I am showing the ammonite moving through a waving forest of kelp, ever vigilant to both predator and prey.