Pleuroceras costatum

This image is of a Pleuroceras costatum (Hyatt non Reinecke, 1867) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in Franken, Germany. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Eleganticeras elegantulum

This image is of an Eleganticeras elegantulum (Young & Bird, 1828) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in Ahrensburg, Germany. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Harpoceras subplanatum

This image is of a Harpoceras subplanatum (Oppel, 1856) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in La Verpillière, France. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Psiloceras planorbis

This image is of a Psiloceras planorbis (Sowerby, 1824) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in southern England. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Hildoceras bifrons

This image is of a Hildoceras bifrons (Bruguière, 1789) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in England. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Ammonite Fossil at St. Stephen's Cathedral

 

 St. Stephen's Cathedral is located in Vienna, Austria. In 1137 the first Romanesque church was built at the site. The second Romanesque church was built 1200-1225. In 1433 the South Tower was completed and the North Tower finished by 1578. 

The floor has checkerboard pattern made up of red and white stone tiles. There is at least one red tile has an ammonite fossil in it. It appears to be about 7 cm wide. The images were taken in August 2024.

It appears in red floor tile of the church in back right corner. The limestone/marble tile could be Red Verona or Rosso Verona marble. This rock dates to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage, Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy.

 

Rhaeboceras Ammonite Fossil

This image is of a Rhaeboceras  (Meek, 1876) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Cretaceous Period. Fossil was discovered in Montana, USA. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Audouliceras renauxianum Ammonite Fossil

This image is of an Audouliceras renauxianum (d'Orbigny 1842) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Cretaceous Period. Fossil was discovered in Uljanowsk, Russia. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Didymoceras nebrascense Ammonite Fossil

This image is of a Didymoceras nebrascense (Meek and Hayden, 1856) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous Period. Fossil was discovered in South Dakota, USA. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Ectocentrites petersi Ammonite Fossil

This image is of an Ectocentrites petersi ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in Kammerkaralpe, Tirol, Austria. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Alsatites proaries Ammonite Fossil

This image is of an Alsatites proaries (Neumayr, 1879) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in Schreinbach, Salzburg, Austria. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Coroniceras rotiforme Ammonite Fossil

This image is of a Coroniceras rotiforme (Sowerby, 1824) ammonite fossil. The animal existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in Enzesfeld, Austria. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

Ammolite - The Organic Gemstone

 

The picture above is a organic gemstone formed from the remains of ancient ammonite creatures. Below is a picture of a Placenticeras meeki (Böhm, 1898) ammonite fossil found in the Bearpaw Shale Formation of the Lethbridge District, Alberta, Canada. The fossil dates to the Cretaceous Period. Specimens were on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

 

Return To the Fossils of the Vatican

Last month, I returned to  St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City near Rome, Italy. On September 3, 2019 I posted a blog entry about finding ammonite fossils in some of the floor slabs on a visit there. This building material is a iron enriched (red) limestone also known as Red Verona marble or Rosso Verona marble used in a lot of churches including this one. I now know to look for fossils when I see the reddish-pink stone in floors. The material dates to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage, Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy.

 

On this visit, I investigated some of the slabs in more obscure locations like the corners along walls and found some very nicely preserved ammonoid fossils. It appears the stone mason might have intentional put some of these slabs with fossils there and they have held up well since people are not walking on that surface.

Fossils at Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein castle is an iconic building that is one of the most visited tourist spots in Germany. It is located in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany near the Austrian border. King Ludwig II began building the castle in 1869 and was still not completed by the time of his death in 1886.

I don't think the stone these fossils were found in was original the when the castle was being built in the 1800s. They are in the floor tile of a hallway that leads out the gift shop to where the restrooms are and then a door way going to some stairs which lead to the lower levels of the castle where the kitchens were.

The fossils are to ammonids probably from the Jurassic or Cretaceous Periods.

Iridescent Placenticeras meeki Ammonite Fossils

Here are two pictures of a Placenticeras meeki (Böhm, 1898) ammonite fossils found in the Bearpaw Shale Formation of the Lethbridge District, Alberta, Canada. The fossil dates to the Cretaceous Period. Fossils were on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

 

Ammonite Fossils at Munich Residence Museum

When visiting old European cities, ammonites fossils can be found in certain types of limestone. I recently found a these red/white fossils in Germany at the Munich Residence (Residenz München). A number of the rooms contain a red polished limestone tile floors, studying this material one can find ammonoid fossils. This limestone reminds me of what I have seen in Italian churches that also have ammonoid fossils. These ammonoids could date to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage found in the Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy. This iron enriched (red) limestone is also known as Red Verona Marble or Rosso Verona Marble. I am not sure if there is a source of this limestone in Austria or Germany or if it was imported from northern Italy. 

The limestone is used in floors in many of the rooms you are allowed to tour in the museum. I came across a lot of fossils and probably could have found more if not for a time constraint and the crowd of visitors touring the building.

The images on this post were found in the Octogon room which connects to the lavish 66 meter Antiquarium room commissioned by Duke Albrecht V from 1568 to 1571. This room seemed to have some of the best preserved and most fossils in its tiles. These pictures only represent some of the ammonites, I estimate I saw at least 10 in my short time looking. This building in bombed in 1944 during World War II and the original floors might have been destroyed. These images were taken in August 2024.

Prolecanites americanis Ammonite Fossil

These pictures are of what appears to be a Prolecanites americanis (Miller and Garner, 1953) ammonite fossil. It was found in the Carwood Formation of Floyd County, Indiana, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period. Note the black suture lines seen in the image.

 Thanks to Kenny for the images.

Spinocrioceras polyspinosum Ammonite Fossil

This picture is of a Spinocrioceras polyspinosum (Kemper, 1973) [Crioceratites sp.] fossil. It was found at Ville de Leyva (Leiva) Columbia. The fossil dates to the Barremian age of the Lower Cretaceous Period.

It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France. Image taken August 2009.

Porpoceras ventricosum Ammonite Fossil

This image shows a Porpoceras ventricosum (Buckman , 1914) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found at Anduze (Gard) France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

The species was named by British palaeontologist Sydney Savory Buckman (1860-1929). It was originally named by English naturalist James Sowerby (1757-1822) and it was called Ammonites "armatus" (Sowerby, 1815).