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Nipponites mirabilis

Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History & Human History

This ammonite from the Cretaceous strata in Hokkaido is one of the most famous fossils in Japan. Although many ammonites have spiral shells, Nipponites have a unique form which repeats right coiling and left coiling to take on a unique shape. One theory says that their shapes are the result of growing by a certain rule while maintaining their position in the sea.