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Big Favosite Coral with a Suprise


minnbuckeye

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Last Autumn, I found a large favosite coral embedded in quite a bit of matrix. It measured 24cm by 13 cm, which is large for the location it was found in. It was only a coral, but I put quite a few hours into prepping this piece. Finally done!!!!

 

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The one side was FORTUNATELY broken, revealing a hollow center.

 

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 Inside this mass of coral are some very nice crystals!

 

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Now I pose a question for the Forum members: Do I leave this alone and enjoy the little bit of crystalline material visable or break this open revealing the complete hollow core?  I am torn between the two choices! Also, for those knowledgeable in coral anatomy, which side is up and which is down. I can see it 2 different ways.

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 Very nice indeed. I would leave it because there is to much risk in damaging it. That is just my thoughts. :)

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That's really nice.  I would like to see more corals, bryozoans, and brachs prepped.  They are really nice when all cleaned up!

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17 minutes ago, Peat Burns said:

That's really nice.  I would like to see more corals, bryozoans, and brachs prepped.  They are really nice when all cleaned up!

@Peat BurnsI tried KOH trying to save on labor, but was unsuccessful!

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Were it mine (oh, I wish...), I would leave it alone. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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2 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

 

 

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This is upside down, so the other side is right side up

 

1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said:

which side is up and which is down.

 

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1 hour ago, Peat Burns said:

This is upside down, so the other side is right side up

 

 

Thanks, my gut instinct was correct.

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Nice one!

I would probably leave it as is too. Are you sure the thing has a large cavity in the center, or maybe only these coupe of small cavities that you've already exposed?

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5 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Nice one!

@Wrangellian Are you sure the thing has a large cavity in the center, or maybe only these coupe of small cavities that you've already exposed?

 

 In this picture, the opening on the right exposes a large, but flat chamber , The one on the left is much smaller and would not be worth exposing.

 

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I would leave it as is. Calcite crystals are not that super rare and Favosites are also not that rare. But the combination in this specimen is superb! At one side you can see the outside of the colony, at the other side a cross section through the colony with some extra features.

To sum up: Congratulations to this beautifull and very instructive find!
Franz Bernhard

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Nice piece of coral. I really like the mineral / fossil combination pieces.

If the piece is "light" for a piece of that size, then there could be a larger hollow in it. If it is close to the typical weight of a similar sized rock then it is probably solid (for the most part).

I would not "break" it to see if it is hollow.

If You do want to "open" it, use a rock saw to cut it.

It may look nice if You cut off the fractured section and polish that surface. (remove as little material as possible to get a flat surface.)

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

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