Parapuzosia seppenradensis is the largest known species of ammonite.[1] It lived during the Lower Campanian Epoch of the Late Cretaceous period, in marine environments in what is now Westphalia, Germany. A specimen, found in Seppenrade near Lüdinghausen, Germany in 1895 measures 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in diameter, although the living chamber is incomplete.
Parapuzosia seppenradensis Temporal range: Lower Campanian
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Subclass: | †Ammonoidea |
Order: | †Ammonitida |
Family: | †Desmoceratidae |
Genus: | †Parapuzosia |
Species: | †P. seppenradensis
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Binomial name | |
†Parapuzosia seppenradensis (Landois, 1895)
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Synonyms | |
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The original fossil is shown in the foyer of the Westphalian Museum of Natural History, Münster, Germany. It was once estimated that, if complete, this specimen would have had a diameter of approximately 2.55 m (8.4 ft)[2] or even 3.5 m (11 ft).[3] However, a study in 2021 estimated the diameter of the largest specimens to be around 2 m (6.6 ft).[4] The total live mass has been estimated at 1,455 kg (3,208 lb), of which the shell would constitute 705 kg (1,554 lb).[3]