OPALIZED MUSSELS. ...

Description

OPALIZED MUSSELS
Eyrena tatei
Lower Cretaceous
Coober Pedy, southern Australia
This marvelous profusion of prehistoric mussels comes from the "opal capital of the world", the inhospitable and isolated Coober Pedy, in the southern Australian outback. Their shells have been geomorphically replaced over millions of years by precious opal, flashing with translucent green, pink, orange and violet, and because of opal's microcrystalline structure, the smallest details of the fossil shells have been preserved.
This natural assemblage of over 29 opalized shells has been partially prepared from the characteristic salmon-pink sandstone plaque which provides a delicate aesthetic contrast. Most of the shells have been polished to reveal the opalescent colors from within. The largest individual mussel specimen measures 2 5/8 inches and the complete matrix plate measures 18 inches in length.

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