TF1104 Tabulate coral

Ordovician to Permian

Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Tabulata

Tabulae
Colonial

Mineral replacement of skeleton

Due to the way that this specimen has been cut and polished, the tabulae are not immediately obvious. They are visible on parts of the slab, allowing for this to be identified as a tabulate coral.

You may recognise this specimen from the coffee table in the common room on the ground floor of the Earth Sciences Department. Have a go at identifying the other fossils in the table on your next coffee break!