About This Object
- A fossil of the ammonite Hildoceras bifrons.
Collected in France. Collection date and collector unknown.
Curious Facts
Hildoceras bifrons is named in honor of St. Hilda of Whitby. According to legend, when Hilda arrived in Whitby, England in the 7th century, the site for a new abbey was infested with snakes. Hilda prayed and turned the snakes to stone before throwing them off a cliff. These stone snakes are the ammonites prevalent in the area.