e-MATH



The Mathematical Study of Mollusk Shells



3. Nautilus and the Ammonites

Not many shells exhibit the logarithmic spiral in its simplest, planar form. The main living example is the cephalopod Nautilus pompilius. There are many examples (all extinct) in the cephalopod subclass Ammonoidea.


Shell of Nautilus pompilius sliced across to show inner chambers. Image from Sanibel Seashell Industries, used with permission.

A mathematical model of Nautilus.
Model details.


Fossil of the Ammonite Astroceras obtusum. Image from Paleoplace.com, used with permission. This specimen, measuring approx. 4 inches in diameter, is from the lower Lias formation in Dorset, England. It is about 200 million years old.

A mathematical model of Astroceras.
Model details.




Fossil Ammonite Euhoplites truncatus. Image @2000 Jim Craig from Fossils of the Gault Clay and Folkestone Beds of Kent, UK, used with permission.

A mathematical model of Euhoplites.
Model details.



Fossil Bellerophina minuta. Long thought to be a cephalopod, recently reclassified in the Gastropoda. Image @2000 Jim Craig from Fossils of the Gault Clay and Folkestone Beds of Kent, UK, used with permission.

A mathematical model of Bellerophina.
Model details.





@ Copyright 2001, American Mathematical Society.