For those of you who have seen us in person, here is a copy of the fossil information you may have received when asking about some of our specimens. Please feel free to print out this page!
Ammonites
Ammonites lived in the oceans from the Ordovician Period (about 450 million years ago) to the late Jurassic Period (about 150 million years ago) and became extinct at the same time that the dinosaurs disappeared. There are hundreds of sub-species known. Ammonites moved through the water using jet propulsion! The only surviving member of the family can still be found in the South Pacific and is called the Pearly Nautilus.
Orthoceras
Orthoceras (part of the Nautiloid family) lived in the oceans from the Paleozoic Era about 400 million years ago. They had long, hard-shelled tapered bodies and grew to about 6" long on average. Orthoceras moved through the water by squirting water out of it's body cavity which had many chambers. The Orthoceras is a distant relative of the squid or octopus.
Trilobites
Trilobites are among the oldest fossils. They first appeared about 550 million years ago and became extinct about 250 million years ago. There are many types, ranging in size from 1/25 inch to 39 inches in length! Although most trilobites lived in deeper water on or near the bottom, some floated freely through the ocean, waiting for food to come their way. Trilobites could roll up or coil their skeletons, most likely for defense and protection.
Sea Urchins
Sea Urchins are among the oldest and the youngest fossils. They first appeared earlier than 550 million years ago and became extinct only about 1 million year ago. There are many types, with bodies that are so different it is hard to believe they belong to the same fossil family. The sizes range in size from 1 1/2 inch to 5 inches in diameter. Most Sea Urchins foraged on the sea bottom. Their very hard skeletons provided both internal support and protection.
Shark's Teeth
Sharks still populate all of the oceans around the world and first appeared on Earth during the Devonian Period, some 400 million years go. Because sharks are still with us, these fossils are among the oldest and the youngest to be found. Because most of the shark's body is composed of cartilage, which does not fossilize, all that remains from pre-historic sharks are the dorsal fins and the teeth. These teeth samples were found in the Sahara Desert, which was an ocean bottom 55 million of years ago.
Bismuth
Bismuth is a naturally occurring metal and an element belonging to the fifth main group of the periodic table of chemical elements, where you will also find nitrogen, phosphor, arsenic, and antimony.
Bismuth is a rare and strange metal. The bismuth we sell is actually grown in a laboratory. It is the result of a chemical process that helps form the unusual shaped metallic crystal. These crystals are called Hopper crystals. Liquid Bismuth has the strange characteristic of being more dense than the solid version, so when the crystals start to form, or "grow", the solid floats to the top of the liquid, making it easy to remove at specific weights. The actual manufacturing process is somewhat mysterious and secretive (I suspect to keep people from trying to make these crystals in their kitchens!), but here is what I have been able to find:
"The crystals form floating in a supercooled bismuth melt and the actual growing time is about 5 - 10 minutes (yes, it is that quick!). The rapid growth is responsible for this weird hollow forms which are also called hopper crystals. The iridescent metallic colors are caused by light scattering on a thin layer of bismuth oxide which forms immediately when the hot crystals are pulled out of the melt and start interacting with air."
"The brightness and color intensity depends on the purity of the bismuth used, which also has a great influence on the quality of the crystals themselves. Regular bismuth produces coarse crystals with blueish/purple colors. High purity ("electronic grade") material, which is much more expensive, is used to produce the fine crystallized bismuth with the rainbow colors. However, there are some additional manufacturing tricks, but thatīs the factory's secret!"
Quote taken from Udo J.A. Behner, German Bismuth manufacturer, edited by Lee Parmenter for UOleFossil.
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