A fragment of a giant ammonite is now exhibited in Irshava museum

Experts say that in the Palaeozoic era, which is about 345 million years ago, on the territory of modern Transcarpathia, there was the so-called Carpathian Sea, which was a part of the great Tethys ocean. 

Various marine organisms were swimming in that sea: sharks, ammonites, belemnites, corals, sea urchins, gastropods, radiolarians, ostracods, and more.

They alled lived, multiplied and ate one another. Dying, they would fall on the sea floor and… remain there forever as fossils to amaze us in the future with their shapes, sizes and understanding that 400-100 million years ago, there were living, though primitive organisms on Earth.

Occasionally we find these ancient inhabitants of the planet beneath our feet, the director of Irshava Historical Museum, renowned historian Andriy Svitlynets says.

 The said museum has a small collection of fossils, which came from the lime quarry in the village of Pryborzhavske, the historian adds. Mostly, ammonites and belemnites. They are usually small in size, but sometimes some interesting specimens can be found. Recently, a fragment of a giant ammonite was added to the museum collection. Mr. Svitlynets says that it is a big acquisition for the museum.