AMMONITES(ISBN=9781588340474)

　　The beautiful spiral shells of these long-extinct marine invertebrates are among the most sought after and recognizable of fossils, yet little has been published about ammonites outside of geological journals. Neale Monks and Philip Palmer look at the latest ideas on ammonite biology and ecology to present this detailed picture of a once diverse and widespread group of animals.
　　The authors describe the evolution of ammonites and their relatives and explain how they created their shells and used them as flotation devices. All the major groups of ammonites are described and illustrated (as are many minor ones), and important material is included on anatomy, feeding, reproduction, and pathology. The 300-million-year existence of ammonites ended at around the same time that dinosaurs became extinct. Fortunately, ammonites were once so abundant that their fossilized shells can be readily found, and the authors provide a helpful guide to locating and collecting these unique fossils.

　　Neale Monks is a palaeontologist at The Natural History Museum in London, and has written a number of papers on the evolution of beteromorph ammonites. Phil Palmer was a scientist at The Natural History Museum in London until his retirement, and has written extensively on fossil molluses and stratigraphy.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: An introduction to ammonites
  The Cephalopoda
  A short history of the Cephalopoda
  A clue to the past: Nautilus.
  The anatomy of. Nautilus
Chapter 2: Ammonite fossils
  Ammonite shell morphology
  The suture line
  The aptychus
   Ammonite soft body anatomy
Chapter 3: Ammonite form and function
   Buoyancy
   Water pressure
   Orientation
   Jet propulsion, half a billion years before Frank Whittle
   Streamlining
   Defence
Chapter 4: Aspects of ammonite biology
  Sexual dimorphism
  Ammonite reproduction
  Ammonite old age, pathology and predators
Chapter 5: Ammonite taxonomy and classification
  Suborder Anarcestina
  Suborder Clymeniina
  Suborder Goniatitina - the goniatites
  Suborder Prolecanitina
  Suborder Ceratitina - the ceratites
  Suborder Phylloceratina
  Suborder Lytoceratina
  Suborder Ancyloceratina - the heteromorphs
  Suborder Ammonitina - the true ammonites
Chapter 6" The extinction of the ammonites
  Periodic extinctions throughout the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic.
  Late Cretaceous decline and extinction
  The ammonites' successors -the Coleoidea
Collecting ammonites and ammonite collections
Further information
Glossary
Index