When an ancient animal becomes an iridescent gemstone

A new arrival: this cephalopod from the Late Cretaceous was found in the Bearpaw Formation of Canada last year, and it sports a row of black circular bite holes from a mosasaur — a marine predator that also lived 71M years ago. (see render of the scene below)

It has the unique designation known as Ammolite which has been considered a gemstone by the World Jewellery Confederation since 1981.

The big Ammonite behind me fell prey to an even larger predator in the red seas of yore. It was rough out there!