Polished Baculite Section 19

This polished baculite section is from Baculites compressus Meek. The suture lines are clearly visible. This fossil is from the upper Cretaceous Period and was found in the Cheyenne River Badlands, South Dakota. This fossil was found in the Pierre Shale Formation. Baculites were cephalopods related to ammonites. They are sometimes called walking sticks because of the shape of their shell. They grow in flat spirals when they are young. Then as adults the shell grows straight. Baculites could reach two meters in length.