FOSSIL SPONGE PRESERVED IN FLINT
« backFOSSIL SPONGE
PRESERVED IN FLINT
80 million years old
During the late Cretaceous period Britain was submerged beneath a tropical sea. On this sea floor was laid down white, limy mud, which became the familiar soft limestone we know as Chalk. Sponges that lived on this sea floor are often preserved as fossils in the Chalk, usually as the hard form of silica known as flint.
Sponges are among the most primitive animals alive today. They live by drawing water through the body into a central cavity to remove the organic nutrients. Sometimes the shape of the original sponge is preserved in flint, at other times it's just the central cavity as in this case.
Click on a picture for a larger imagePRESERVED IN FLINT
80 million years old
During the late Cretaceous period Britain was submerged beneath a tropical sea. On this sea floor was laid down white, limy mud, which became the familiar soft limestone we know as Chalk. Sponges that lived on this sea floor are often preserved as fossils in the Chalk, usually as the hard form of silica known as flint.
Sponges are among the most primitive animals alive today. They live by drawing water through the body into a central cavity to remove the organic nutrients. Sometimes the shape of the original sponge is preserved in flint, at other times it's just the central cavity as in this case.
Size: 10 x 5 x 3.5 centimetres
Weight: 165 grams
|
