Recently I began working with a brand new material that my inner nerd could not get enough of. Indonesian Feather Agate is not your ordinary rock. It is in fact agatized foraminifera fossils. Foraminifera is a species of amoeba dating back to over 540 million years ago!
You might be wondering, what exactly are foraminifera? As stated above, they are a type of amoeba, but what exactly does that mean? They are single-cell organisms that can grow up to 20 centimeters in length. Also, they have shells that can be made out of an assortment of materials including organic materials, sand, or even crystalline calcite or aragonite. Although they do date back so many millions of years ago, there are still many types of foraminifera left. Approximately only 4,000 foraminifera species are extinct (which is a lot, but considering they date back before the dinosaurs, I would say that is pretty impressive.) These organisms live in the ocean. Some are found floating around in the water and some live at the bottom of the ocean residing in plants or mud. Overall, they are absolutely fascinating!
When I discovered that Indonesian Feather Agate is agatized foraminifera fossils, I had to cut it immediately! When cabbing it, I noticed it had a very distinct odor. It was not overly pleasant, but thankfully that was only for a short amount of time! I made sure to capture as many of the little amoeba fossils as I could and I am so happy with the way it turned out! I am happy with the shape that I chose, the way the colors help to make the fossils pop, and the beautiful polish it took!
Click here to see more pictures of the new Indonesian Feather Agate in our Etsy store:
If you wish to learn more about foraminifera, here are a few excellent sources:
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