What Is The True Name Of These?

[Harry Pristis]

The second paper in Mr. Edonhices' post is well worth the read!

Do you mean the Australian Museum page? I found that interesting -- seeing a complete (modern) "mud teredo" burrow!

But, that site didn't address Worthy's question: Are beekite and botryoidal quartz related in a less-apparent way than simply both being cryptocrystalline quartz?

[tracer]

the botryoidal habit of chalcedony crystallization as expressed in the fossil corals is common for that mineral, and some other minerals. although the terms agate, cryptocrystalline quartz, and chalcedony get used interchangeably at times, i think some chalcedony has physical structure that makes it a bit different. it is referred to as "fibrous". not sure if that is the reason for its tendency to form a globular shape around nucleation points, but anyway.

to me the coral with botryoidal chalcedony is very pretty and very cool, but more understandable a form than the beekite. i feel now like i sorta know what causes the formation, but i'm still not sure how those cool little cinnamon buns actually form. one of the references indicated it's when the silica precipitates out and builds rapidly. i've read before that silica crystallization seems to be fairly commonly resulting from an aqueous "gel". i'm wondering if the consistency (thick vs. thin) and the rate of oxidizing bacterial action on the calcium carbonate substrate could cause more or less of a "dump" of precipitate at times that assumes the form of the beekite.

ok, get ready for this - here's where i draw a completely fabricated and unrelated analogy that on its surface seems completely plausible but is more like voodoo logic. i figure a slimy ooze of siliceous gel coats the surface of a surface, and then a botryoidal "drop" of gel that has wanderlust and hasn't yet solidified breaks off a nearby hunk of coral, segues over to the brach or teredo tube of choice, plops down on the surface, and causes one of those little concentric-ringed sine waveforms that you see in slow-mo video of a drop hitting the surface of water, and then it all undergoes some paroxysmal and cathartic solidification and WALL AHH!

beekite.

um, here's a link regarding chalcedony should you wish to know more about it. link regarding chalcedony

i'll be in the foyer to answer any questions for a couple of minutes, but the second show has been canceled so that i can devote my full attention to tracking tropical storm 13 and gonna-be-a-hurricane-again katia...

[Maniraptoran]

lol

it looks like a mosasaur pooped out a bunch of little ammonites

[worthy 55]

Worthy raised a good question: What is the relationship between beekite and botryoidal quartz?

I mean, is beekite a preliminary stage of the growth of these bubbles of cryptocrystalline quartz? (as in the agatized coral)

Does beekite represent an early stage of growth that was terminated by some change in the depositional environment?

After all, beekite is cryptocrystalline quartz laid down in circular patterns.

I don't have the answer; but, maybe someone here does.

I think that the Beekites are the early stages of what happens to coral when it is forming the bubbles of cryptocrystalline quarts. While cleaning some of my pieces up I found some small columns inside of one and broke one off and it sure looks like the Beekites in the clam tube. The pictures are the best I can get with my camera.

[Harry Pristis]

Aha! Good job, Worthy! Beekite may be the forerunner to botryoidal!