Fossil coral, agatized coral - g.

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agate coral

Coral fossil is a natural stone. Appears when the silicate gradually replaces the ancient silicate. Eventually it becomes microcrystalline quartz.

The coral color usually appears as small flower patterns on the stone. the coral reef thrived in warm, shallow tropical seas and fed on plankton, just as it does today. Corals are marine animals with a baggy body, mouth, tentacles and skeleton.

This is the skeleton that has been preserved in the fossil record. Corals can be solitary or occur in large colonies. Sealing temperature and instillation pressure. This caused these coral deposits to turn into rocks over time.

Among the varieties of fossilized coral found around the world, the extremely detailed specimens from the mountains of Indonesia are some of the most unique coral jewelry.

Corals have been growing in the oceans for almost 500 million years.

Permineralization of coral fossils

Permerization is the process of filling the pores in and around the remaining hard coral skeleton with minerals deposited from solutions or migrating through the sediment pile. Finally, after natural contraction, it becomes a stone.

Replacement is the process by which the original skeleton of a coral is replaced, molecule by molecule, by a mineral or minerals from solution. For example, calcium carbonate from the hard structure of coral is replaced by silica from entrapped or migrating solutions during rock formation.

This dual preservation process can occur with different concentrations of additional minerals. This preserves the contrast between the original soft tissues as well as the remnants of the coral skeleton, as different minerals give the stones different colors.

The geochemical and geological conditions in which these processes take place are usually slightly acidic, low temperatures and low pressures. The resulting deposit of the replacement product is microscopic or cryptocrystalline quartz, commonly referred to as agate.

In Indonesia, the preservation of whole coral heads is of exceptional quality. It looks the same as it did 20 million years ago. Although the chemical composition is now different. The organic chemistry is now silica, as well as iron, manganese, and other minerals. There are fern corals, brain corals, cube corals, honeycomb corals and many more.

horn coral

Rugosa, also called Rugosa or Tetracorallia, is an extinct range of solitary and colonial corals that were abundant in seas from the mid-Ordovician to the late Permian. Single rugosans are often referred to as hornbeads due to their unique horn-like chamber with a wrinkled or uneven wall.

Favorite

Favorites are an extinct type of tabular coral characterized by polygonal, densely packed corals, giving it its common name, honeycomb coral. The walls between the corallites are pierced by pores called wall pores that allow the transfer of nutrients between the polyps.

Favorites, like many corals, thrived in warm, sunlit seas, feeding on filtering microscopic plankton with their spiny tentacles and often forming part of reef complexes. The genus was distributed throughout the world from the late Ordovician to the late Permian.

The meaning and properties of fossil corals

The following section is pseudo-scientific and based on cultural beliefs.

According to metaphysical concepts, petrified coral is the cornerstone suitable for making changes. Agate is believed to help treat pancreatic disorders and improve circulation and air circulation. Fossilized corals are used to treat eye, skin and stomach ailments. It is even believed that this prolongs the service life.

Coral Fossil (or Agatized Coral)

FAQ

How old is petrified coral?

The oldest fossilized coral is 450 million years old. Most of the stones found today can be between 100,000 and 25 million years old, although many older examples have been found from the Silurian era, 390 million years ago.

How can you tell if a coral is fossilized?

The coral color usually appears in the stone as small flowers.

How to clean petrified coral?

After thorough cleaning, soak the fossil in a 50% apple cider vinegar and water solution. I soak my fossil for about 1 hour and come back with my toothbrush to help remove some of the foreign material. When cleaning fossils, make sure the fossils have not been acid-etched.

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