Nautilus Fossil, Cretaceous, Madagascar

Nature’s very own “Golden Ratio”, the Nautilus’ stunning coiled shells are patterned in a very similar way to the Golden Mean Spiral of the infinite Fibonacci Sequence. Because of this, these shells are believed by some to be strongly symbolic of order and perfection. Their fossils featured heavily in Renaissance cabinets of curiosities and were fashioned into extravagant Nautilus shell cups.