ABSTRACT
Because of their regularly coiled shapes, ammonites are commonly used as a symbol for invertebrate paleontology. Their name refers to the Pharaonic god Ammon, whose icons were coiled ram’s horns. The connection thus made between a fossil mollusc shell and the horn of a living mammal appears to be utterly nonscientific. Not to speak about taxonomic relationships and the materials (aragonite crystals versus keratin fibers), the two structures share not even a common function that would imply evolutionary convergence. So should we forget about their similarity as a mere chance effect?
