Description
This pyrite (pyritized) fossil is from Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, United Kingdom. This is Englands favorite fossil collecting area. Animal fossils from the Jurassic Period wash out of the cliffs and can be found mixed in the gravels of the beach. Several species of minerals contributed to the fossilization of the animals including pyrite.The pyrite in this specimen is in a nodule form with a well defined exposed 3d belemnite fossil present. This is the pyritized fossil of the now extinct cephalopod. The fossil is the internal skeleton of the animal and it is called a phragmocone. It dates to about 196 million years in ago. It has been cleaned, stabilized and coated with a protective lacquer. This piece measures 2 x 1 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches or 50 x 45 x 32 mm.
