Quartz var: Agate / Chalcedony pseudomorph after Gastropod

Item Description

This is from a recent find in the Western Sahara of Morocco, and is larger and in my mind more eye-catching than the smaller examples that came out a few years ago. They are somewhat reminiscent of the pieces that were found nearly a decade ago in the Gobi Desert. We were told that the material is literally gathered by hand by Bedouin nomads, and there is no actual "mine", they are simply gathered up in the sand. This piece is a good sized and attractive pseudomorph from this remote locality, featuring a well-preserved elongated spiral Gastropod (snail) shell dating to the Eocene Epoch (55.8 to 33.9 million years ago) which has been sliced and polished to reveal the beauty inside. The majority of the internal chambers have been completely filled with by Agate/Chalcedony, but there are a few shallow openings that remained. The mixture of blue, golden-brown and cream colors internally are quite captivating. Don't miss out on this really attractive and interesting pseudomorph / fossil specimen from one of the least populated and obscure localities in the world.