Missemsrn 0 Posted November 21, 2020 Was told at a museum that this is petrified coral. Wanted confirmation. Person at museum said it looks like someone just decided to bury their collection in my yard. I live in panama city florida maybe 50 yards from salt water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Missemsrn 0 Posted November 21, 2020 I found this in my yard took it a museum and the guy said it was petrified coral. Just wanted confirmation and a good place to have it authenticated to sale.i live in Panama city, fl maybe 50 yards from salt water. I have better pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coco 2,050 Posted November 21, 2020 It is a very thing bad to put a clickable email on a forum. All spam bots will recover it and you will be flooded with unwanted messages. Coco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coco 2,050 Posted November 21, 2020 Don’t post the same thing twice on the forum ! Only one place is enough, the connoisseurs will come but you have to give them time. Your 1st pic looks like coral but a close up would be useful. Coco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Missemsrn 0 Posted November 21, 2020 I didnt mean to post 2x. I thought the first post didnt go through. I apologize. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJ 4,617 Posted November 21, 2020 (Email address removed) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeR 1,158 Posted November 21, 2020 That person from the museum is probably correct. Siderastrea coral, very common in the Plio-Pleistocene quarries of South Florida, unknow from the panhandle. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shellseeker 2,255 Posted November 21, 2020 7 hours ago, Missemsrn said: I found this in my yard took it a museum and the guy said it was petrified coral. Just wanted confirmation and a good place to have it authenticated to sale.i live in Panama city, fl maybe 50 yards from salt water. I have better pics. It is coral. See those little "starbursts" in the photo below. It seems to have formed on the outside of a broken seashell. Possibly @MikeR would be able to identify the coral or the seashell. Here is a TFF thread that provides a lot of information on Florida courtesy of Mike. I would caution you that the monetary value is likely very small based on the prevalence of coral fossils in Florida. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fossildude19 14,879 Posted November 21, 2020 TOPICS MERGED. One is plenty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shellseeker 2,255 Posted November 21, 2020 3 hours ago, Missemsrn said: I didnt mean to post 2x. I thought the first post didnt go through. I apologize. No need, we all have been thru learning the unique aspects of our tools, and we have friendly gremlins , who come along and cleanup any missteps... I wish I had them at home. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Missemsrn 0 Posted November 21, 2020 Great thank you so much. I was actually looking for fulgrite when I found this lol. I have no idea what I'm doing. Freshly new to all this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Missemsrn 0 Posted November 21, 2020 Also I would like to display it like art, any suggestions on how to do this without breaking it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
digit 6,163 Posted November 21, 2020 Definitely a species of Siderastrea coral found reasonably plentiful in northern Florida and southern Georgia. If you do a search for the term 'withlacoochee' or 'silicified coral' on this forum you'll likely turn up some images of the beautiful silicified and agatized corals from around the Valdosta, GA area. I spoke to someone at the FLMNH invertebrate paleontology department some years back and got a tentative ID on the species that is abundant in the area where you found your item. It was identified as Siderastrea silicensis. Here's a good link on the geology of Florida: https://www.cengage.com/custom/regional_geology.bak/data/Hine_1426628390_LowRes.pdf On page 5 there is Figure 3 which shows where the Georgia Channel Seaway Complex was that cut-off the Florida peninsula from the mainland. This channel moved a lot of silica sand (washed out through the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico) and transported up the eastern seaboard. This accounts for the very sandy soils in northern Florida and Georgia and is what gives the nice silicified preservation of these corals. I had more information on them once but would have to look up more than what I can (hopefully) remember off the top of my head. It's a lovely fossil. Welcome to the forum. Cheers. -Ken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grandpa 1,817 Posted November 21, 2020 Welcome to the forum from Austin, Tx. That is a beautiful coral. No need to apologize for "mistakes" made while learning the new software and system. We're happy to have you on the forum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shellseeker 2,255 Posted November 21, 2020 5 hours ago, Missemsrn said: Also I would like to display it like art, any suggestions on how to do this without breaking it? Decades back, my wife collected corals by purchasing rather than finding. She focused on natural colors. So 10 years ago, on an anniversary, I purchased an orange coral and put it in a picture frame. It is still unbroken. Over the last 15 years, while searching for fish and mammal fossils, I have found areas that had corals. I kept the little ones in a bowl on the coffee table. I always like to "handle" the fossil and recall my feelings when finding it. A couple chipped but most have stayed intact. Sort of depends on what you prefer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites