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Is this coral fossilized?


Jazfossilator

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It will help tremendously for the experts to ID if a location of the find could be given.

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A lot of the shells you find on a beach are not modern, they can be several hundred to several thousand years old. Beach nourishment at Myrtle Beach probably brought up a lot of older shells, corals and fossils.  No way to tell the age of your coral just by looking at it. Coral can be aged with strontium isotope aging. 

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Thank you, I will have to look into that aging process, most coral I find is pure white from the bleaching process so the darker shade on this made me wonder. I have much to learn :) 

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The Canepatch and Waccamaw Formations are both found in the area and have coral similar to this. You might try searching those formations along with the word "coral".

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A couple possibilities for identification are Oculina (a common modern coral found in the SE US) and Solenastrea which is commonly found in the Pliocene and Pleistocene of the SE US.

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If I found a fresh piece on the beach in the southeastern states I'd be more inclined to think one of the Oculina species as they are more branching than the few extant Solenastrea species. If it came from dredged up material used as beach replenishment then you might look at something like Solenastrea bella as a candidate.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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16 hours ago, digit said:

If I found a fresh piece on the beach in the southeastern states I'd be more inclined to think one of the Oculina species as they are more branching than the few extant Solenastrea species. If it came from dredged up material used as beach replenishment then you might look at something like Solenastrea bella as a candidate.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

After doing a little research and looking at examples I tend to think Solenastrea is more likely, thanks ken, and Al dente I appreciate the pointers! 

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It's always good to be pointed in an appropriate direction to make online research more productive. TFF is full of a lot of information, distributed among members in a collective knowledge base.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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29 minutes ago, digit said:

It's always good to be pointed in an appropriate direction to make online research more productive. TFF is full of a lot of information, distributed among members in a collective knowledge base.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Very true, I'm new here but it's been very helpful so far. Great forum with nice folks, good day mate 

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