Ammonoid (Paleozoic Pals)

4.8 (5 votes)

First off, just to get it out of the way, this is not an ammonite. This is an ammonoid, the broader group to which ammonites belong. While ammonites lived through the Jurassic and Cretaceous the group ammonoidea first appeared 400 million years ago in the Devonian. Thus, here we have a plush ammonoid, not an ammonite which would have no place in a line of toys representing Paleozoic fauna. Also worth noting, for no reason in particular is that ammonoids are actually more closely related to squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish than they are to the superficially similar nautiloids but all of them are of course cephalopods.

Now what species or genus of ammonoid this toy is supposed to represent is a bit of a mystery, and it’s probably not meant to represent any specific animal, just ammonoids as a group and you could probably pretend it was an ammonite if you wanted. Just for kicks I tried to identify it in my “Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York” but with no real success. This is kind of a shame honestly because the previously released trilobite and eurypterid identify the toys at the species level.

Regardless of identity this is still a great toy. The boldly colored and tightly wound orange shell, in conjunction with the big shiny eyes and ten arms make it a lot of fun to look at and play with. It’s quite large too, measuring 15” in length (arms included) and 7” tall. The shell is quite wide too, 3” across. The eyes are brown, body tan, and the arms tan and white. No mouth is present hidden in the arms, unfortunately.

As with the rest of the Paleozoic Pals line this toy was commissioned by PRI’s Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY. If you want to catch one in the wild you’ll have to go there to get one but you can also acquire it on their website which is no doubt the more practical route. But, if you’re ever in central/western New York make sure you stop by the museum. The collection of Devonian fossils is truly impressive and one of a kind. This review concludes our look at the Paleozoic Pals, for now. It’ll be exciting to see what the future holds for these adorable and unique toys.

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