Nipponites Enamel Pin (Nipponites mirabilis) Tapirus featuring preserved cranial structure and

featuring preserved cranial structure and four remaining teeth

sutures and minute details of a real skull

mineral identification

detailed suture morphology

The pole and spine can be removed from the base

Nipponites Enamel Pin (Nipponites mirabilis) Tapirus featuring preserved cranial structure andIf youve ever looked at an ammonite fossil and thought, That spirals a little too neat, Nipponites mirabilis is here to blow up your sense of order. This Late Cretaceous cephalopod from Japan gave up the classic nautilus swirl for a wildly twisted, zigzagging shell that looks more like modern abstract art than a home for a squid like animal. Despite its chaotic appearance, Nipponites thrived about 85 million years ago, proving that even in evolution,