Ammonites

Supernatural powers have been attributed to the fossilized remains of ammonites at various times by cultures in North America, Europe, and India.


Ammonites of course, are the extinct relatives of the squid, octopus, and nautilus. The largest of the early ammonites in the Jurassic were probably fairly similar in size and shape to the modern nautilus, but by the late Jurassic, larger species were emerging. The largest species (with increasingly elaborate ornamentation on their shells) appeared in the Cretaceous.

There are a couple of miniatures that can be used to represent these giant ammonites in 1/72. On the left is the Grenadier Kraken (Fantasy Lords 186), while on the right is the Kaiyodo Pachydiscus (UHA Dinotales series 1, #17).


The Kraken is definitely a fantasy creature, since it has octopus-like tentacles, and doesn't look like it can fit completely into its shell. The Pachydiscus is more properly known as Parapuzosia seppenradensis, since it was reassigned to a different genus. Specimens of P. seppenradensis have been estimated to have shells that were 2.55m in diameter, which is very close in scale dimensions to the Kaiyodo model.