Fossil Selection - HALYSITES

This is a fossil coral colony called Halysites. It was collected from Wrens Nest, Dudley in the West Midlands of England (a very famous British fossil locality). At Wrens Nest the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation of the Silurian Period of approximately 423 million years age outcrops. This specimen is preserved in the limestone. It was once part of a thriving and very diverse coral reef community, living in warm, shallow seas.

Halysites is also known as chain coral from the manner of growth observed in its fossils, that is, like links of a chain attached side-by-side. The entire chain-like or organ-like coral skeleton is called the corallum, while the individual tubular chambers within the corallum are called corallites. Halysites is a 'tabulate' coral species