|
|
|
COMPLETE LARGE COLONY OF PLIOCENE ROSE CORAL Caloosahatchee Formation - Manatee County - Florida, USA LATE PLIOCENE PERIOD : 3 million years ago Fossil corals are beautiful and fascinating, reminding us of the wonderful creatures that made up prehistoric ocean life. Unlike modern coral which we VEHEMENTLY discourage purchasing for obvious reasons, collecting fossil coral not only broadens ones collection and studies but it also helps to appreciate the beauty beneath the ancient seas and how important and fragile such amazing creatures were and still are. While many species of fossil coral are extinct, others still survive today yet struggle against extinction. Pollution and the modern coral collecting market is directly causing the destruction of massive colonies of these ecologically vital organisms in our oceans. Where most coral fossils occur in the market as broken junk scraps of a larger colony, this specimen is a COMPLETE COLONY from the Late Pliocene and is of the species Manicina areolata, otherwise known as ROSE CORAL. Entire specimen features NO REPAIR and NO RESTORATION. A great display accessory fossil to any fossil shark tooth collection from the same period! Camels, saber cats, giant ground sloths, giant beavers and mammoths were roaming the forests and plains of Florida when this coral colony was alive in the surrounding warm ancient oceans three million years ago. Fossil corals were simple marine invertebrates that possessed a sac-like body called a polyp with a mouth and tentacles. As carnivores, they would immobilize or kill their prey with their stinging tentacles then swallow their prey and later expel the wastes through the same mouth. They formed a dense outer skeleton of calcium carbonate which, when living in large colonies of thousands of cloned individuals, formed a massive structure. The complex folds in their stomach cavity can be seen in the wondrous detail left behind in their skeletons. Modern corals today share a symbiotic relationship with algae that covers their body tissue. The algae supplement the coral with oxygen which most likely was the case in prehistoric times, as well. Prehistoric corals are believed to have thrived in the same environments that modern corals prefer - clean, warm oceans of normal salinity levels. Solitary corals were present in oceans of soft, muddy bottoms while horn corals and colonial corals preferred hard sea floors to attach themselves. We highly recommend this choice example. Specimens of this caliber are seldom discovered and this type of fossil is not mined commercially for the fossil market so it would definitely make quite a unique specimen to any collection. As both an uncommon and visually attractive fossil, this item presents itself as an excellent opportunity to add a superbly preserved as well as wonderfully aesthetic display specimen to any display of prehistoric ocean life. PERFECT TO DISPLAY WITH FOSSIL SHARK TEETH FROM THE SAME TIME PERIOD! 6.5" by 4.8" $45 COR-017 Actual Item - One Only |
|
45 |
