Devonian coral | Fossil Lady

Favosite Coral — **(Charlevoix Stones) Favosites Honeycomb Coral Fossil**

A favosites is a type of extinct coral. Favosites coral fossils most identifying feature is the honeycomb-like openings (coralites) revealing where the animal (polyps) lived. The polyp tentacles could tuck inside for safety, typically at night, or stretch out from their calcium-carbonate substrates in order to filter tiny food particles floating by in ocean currents.

Favosite Coral Preserved in Gray Shale — **Favosites Honeycomb Coral Fossil Preserved in Gray Shale**

The large fossil sample shown first is preserved in sedimentary claystone. It was found in a field in the city limits of Saugatuck, Michigan, part of the Ellsworth-Antrim Geological Formation (Mississippian-Devonian), Allegan County, Southwestern Michigan, USA. This particular type of honeycomb coral fossil is more commonly found in Charlevoix, Michigan, situated in the Traverse Group Geological Formations in the far northeastern region of the state. Consequently, they’re often called, Charlevoix Stones.

The tabulae (horizontal internal layers) place the favosites corals in the order of tabulata with internal chambers that built outward and upwards as the organism grew.

Diagram of Favosites Internal Structure

The walls between corallites were pierced by pores known as mural pores which allowed transfer of nutrients between polyps as illustrated below.

Favosite Coral Reveals Horizontal "Tabulate" Growth Layers — **(Charlevoix Stone) Favosites Honeycomb Coral Fossil Reveals Inner Growth Layers (Found on Oval Beach, Lake Michigan)**

Like all coral, favosites corals thrived in warm, shallow, sunlit seas. They were a colony type coral forming colorful quilt-work reefs and fed by filtering microscopic plankton with their stinging tentacles. They were most prevalent during the Silurian and Devonian time slots, but date as far back as the Ordovician and forward to the Permian between 251-488 mya. That’s over 200 million years of living on earth . . . amazing!

Favosites Classification

Common Name: Honeycomb Coral Scientific Name: Favosites

Kingdom: Animal

Phylum: Cnidaria (means to sting)

Class: Anthozoa (means flower animal)

Order: Tabulata (possess inner horizontal dividing walls)

Family: Favositidae (honeycomb pattern on exoskeleton)

Genus: Favosites Species: Alpenensis (Charlevoix Stone)

Cora Honeycomb-studio textre — **Rendering Drawing** of **Extinct** **Favosites Honeycomb Coral Showing Polyps Drawn-out**

**Polished** **Petoskey Stone** **Coral Fossil (Hexagonaria, percarinata**)

Simply put, a Petoskey Stone is fossilized coral. Why is it called, a Petoskey Stone? Because so many of its kind are found abundantly in and around Lake Michigan shores, especially near the Northern Michigan city of Petoskey (USA)!

They are also called “lucky stones” so it’s really great to find one!

How could the remains of a coral, which thrived in tropical warm waters, possibly find its way to Michigan?

Because during the era they lived, around 416 to 369 million years ago (Devonian Time Period), much of North America was more tropical and was covered under warm shallow seas. Later, the corals were buried under deep layers of sediment. Many millions of years after that, when the great glaciers retreated, they scraped and dug into those forgotten layers of earth. The glaciers deposited them where we can now enjoy the good fortune of discovering their mysteries.

**Rough unpolished Petoskey Stone Coral Fossil (Hexagonaria, percarinata) found on Lake Michigan beaches.**

Petoskey Stone fossils originate from mass coral colonies of Hexagonaria, percarinata. Each hexagonal corallite (visible in the stone) held a single animal which opened a mouth exposing tentacles that siphoned food particles floating by in ocean currents. The tentacles were also used to sting any organism or other corallites that came too close. Calcite, silica and other minerals replaced the original exoskeleton over many millions of years.

**Corallites Detail of Petoskey Stone Coral Fossil (Hexagonaria, percarinata) found on Lake Michigan Beach**

PETOSKEY STONE CLASSIFICATION

Common Name: Petoskey Stone or Lucky Stone

Scientific Name: Hexagonaria, percarinata

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Cnidardia (means to sting)

Class: Anthozoa (ie coral, sea pens, sea anemones)

Subclass: Zoantharia (true corals)

Order: Rugosa (means wrinkled wall)

Family: Hexagonaria (means six sides)

Species: percarinata

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Tag Archives: Devonian coral

What is a favosites?

Diagram of Favosites Internal Structure

Favosites Classification

What is a Petoskey Stone?

PETOSKEY STONE CLASSIFICATION

Diagram of Favosites Internal Structure

Favosites Classification

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PETOSKEY STONE CLASSIFICATION

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