An ammonite shell with a diameter of 1.18 metre has been discovered by the paleontologist Adrian Kin, who is doing a doctorate at the Jagiellonian University. This has been the largest complete ammonite fossil that has been found in Poland so far.

Ammonites were large molluscs which became extinct about 65 million years ago. The unique specimen belongs to the Pachydesmoceras species belonging to the Pachydiscidae family. The researcher found it in the Nowa Odra quarry in Opole, among the layers of marls and limestones from the late Cretaceous period, 75 million years ago.

"The giant ammonites with the diameter of more than one metre are very rare all over the world. The biggest specimen found so far is a 1,8 metre Parapuzosia seppenradensis discovered in Germany in the 19th century," said Adam Kin, adding that "the specimen from Opole belongs to the elite group of a few dozen largest known ammonite fossils in the world."

The results of the research by Adam Kin and another Polish paleontologist Robert Niedźwiedzki have recently been published in the prestigious journal "Cretaceous Research".