Fossil Acritarch Cymatiosphaera Earrings

Cymatiosphaera is a species of Acritarch, an organic microfossil from the Neogene period. Some Acritarchs are thought to be fossilized cysts of dinoflagellates, a type of marine plankton with two flagella that propel it through the water.  Dinoflagellate cysts, like bacterial spores, are a dormant zygotic form of the organism that waits around until conditions are right to revive, and are therefore plentiful among marine sediment microfossils.  Cymatiosphaera was first identified from samples taken from the deep water Porcupine Basin off the coast of Ireland by Quaijtaal et al (Palynology 39:37-55, 2015).

Please note that earrings will ship from Shapeways without hooks. The weight of an individual earring is approximately 5.4g.