Green and Blue Lightning Ridge Opalized Whelk Fossil - 1.1 Carats, 12mm x 6mm

Opalized fossils, such as this whelk shell, form through a remarkable geological process in the Griman Creek Formation, where silica-rich groundwater replaces the organic material of buried remains over millions of years, resulting in durable, gem-quality replicas. Dating to the Early Cretaceous period, approximately 110 million years ago, these fossils originate from a time when the region was part of a coastal plain adjacent to the vast Eromanga Sea. The whelk itself was a marine gastropod mollusc, akin to a predatory sea snail from the family Buccinidae, which inhabited shallow marine environments. These creatures possessed a coiled shell for protection and fed on other small marine organisms, contributing to the ecosystem of prehistoric seas. Lightning Ridge remains one of the few locations worldwide where such opalized marine invertebrates are found, making this fossil not only a testament to evolutionary history but also a valuable artifact of Australia's paleontological heritage.