Parapuzosia Seppenradensis

Parapuzosia seppenradensis is the largest known species of ammonite. It lived during the Lower Campanian Epoch of the Late Cretaceous period, in marine environments in what is now Westphalia, Germany. A specimen, found in Seppenrade near Lüdinghausen, Germany in 1895 measures 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in diameter, although the living chamber is incomplete.

Parapuzosia seppenradensis Temporal range: Lower Campanian
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Subclass:	†Ammonoidea
Order:	†Ammonitida
Family:	†Desmoceratidae
Genus:	†Parapuzosia
Species:	†P. seppenradensis
Binomial name
†Parapuzosia seppenradensis (Landois, 1895)
Synonyms
Pachydiscus seppenradensis Landois, 1895

The original fossil is shown in the foyer of the Westphalian Museum of Natural History, Münster, Germany. It was once estimated that, if complete, this specimen would have had a diameter of approximately 2.55 m (8.4 ft) or even 3.5 m (11 ft). However, a study in 2021 estimated the diameter of the largest specimens to be around 2 m (6.6 ft). The total live mass has been estimated at 1,455 kg (3,208 lb), of which the shell would constitute 705 kg (1,554 lb).

 

Wiki Commons has media related to Parapuzosia seppenradensis fossils.

• Cephalopod size