2.4" Thamnopora SP Coral Fossil Coral Reef Devonian Age Verde Valley, Arizona

Location: Martin Formation, Verde Valley, Arizona, United States

Weight: 2.5 Ounces  

Dimensions: 2.4 Inches Long, 1.6 Inches Wide, 1.7 Inches Thick

Devonian Age 380 Million Years Old

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

Thamnopora SP Fossil Coral

During the Devonian epoch, approximately 410 million years ago, coral organisms underwent a remarkable resurgence and established the planet's first substantial reef structures. These ancient reef communities were dominated by stromatoporoids—sponge-like organisms with reef-building capabilities—alongside tabulate corals displaying diverse morphologies from mounded to branching formations, rugose corals characterized by their distinctive horn-like geometry, and primitive coralline algae species that encrusted rock surfaces in varied hues. The period witnessed the inaugural emergence of scleractinian corals, the modern stony corals that persist in contemporary reef ecosystems. This coral-dominated era proved ephemeral; by approximately 350 million years ago, corals vanished from the paleontological record. Scientific evidence points toward dramatic fluctuations in sea level and a precipitous decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide as the probable mechanisms driving this extinction event.