They studied 154 giant ammonites from Cretaceous period found in rocks in Germany, Mexico and the UK. The chambered shells were buoyant, and floated in the Chalk Sea for a long time before finally sinking to the bottom, where they have been preserved for millions of years." The team, led by Dr Christina Ifrim, a paleontologist and head of the Jura Museum in Germany, published their research in PLOS One. The largest specimens are females, which probably spawned once and subsequently died. He said that "this giant species is commonly found in the chalk on the foreshore at Peacehaven in East Sussex, where erosion by the sea has exposed molds of the shells (image). One of the team who have described the prolific collection of ammonites in England is Professor Andy Gale at the University of Portsmouth. The creatures once thrived on both sides of the Atlantic, in Sussex and in Mexico, before being wiped out by the same meteorite strike which brought the age of dinosaurs to an end. Ammonites fossils more than 80 million years old and which can easily be seen today on the shores of southern England have been described by an international team of scientists. Enormous ammonites up to 1.8 m (6 feet) across lived on both sides of the Atlantic, in the United Kingdom and Mexico, some 83 million years ago (Cretaceous period), according to new research led by the University of Portsmouth. Vast ammonites, relatives of squid and octopus, up to 1.8 meters across once littered the East Sussex seas, according to new research. ![]() Made of polystyrene it squeaked as we rolled it down the beach at Lyme Regis. This was a replica that we used to show how big ammonites could grow. Giant Ammonites Once Thrived on Both Sides of Atlantic.
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