Palygorskite (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

A very hard to find specimen of the uncommon Mn-Al silicate, Palygorskite from Seaton, Devon, England. I can't recall ever having a piece of this material to offer before this one. This thumbnail piece features off-white colored (with what appears to be reddish-brown iron-oxide on the surface) matted, fibrous crystals of Palygorskite, free of matrix. This specific material was called Pilolite years ago, which used to be a valid species, but it now defined as Palygorskite, and the entry on mindat.org states that, "many, but not all, pilolites are (Fe-bearing) palygorskite", which would make sense based upon the iron oxide visible on the surface of this piece. Please note that the specimen is delicate and must be handled carefully.
From the collection of Shields Flynn, originally from the Marty Zinn collection.