Horn Coral
21 item(s)
Sort By: Highest price
We have several species of horn coral for sale here. Big impressive Devonian horn coral from Morocco, beautiful red agatized horn coral ftom Utah, and some small, but nicely shapped Carboniferous species from Texas, Kentucky, and Indiana. Take your pick!
Horn corals belong to the phylum called cnidaria. As you may have guessed, they are related to jellyfish as well as modern day corals. They are from the extinct order of corals called Rugosa which means wrinkled. The outside of these corals have a wrinkled appearance and grow in a long cone shape like a bull's horn. The fossil is the skeleton of the coral animal or polyp. The polyp lived at the top of the cone. They had many tentacles sticking out to gather food which gave the horn coral a flower like appearance.
When Did Horn Corals Live?
Horn corals flourished during the Paleozoic Era, begining in the Mid Ordovician Period about 450 million years ago. There were so many horn corals in the oceans of the Paleozoic world that they created large reefs, that are still found in many places. All of the order Rugosa went extinct during the Great Permian Extinction about 252 million years ago.
Horn Coral Value
Because they were so plentiful, and fossilize relatively easily they are commonly seen in rock shops everywhere. Like so many things "rare" increases value. So most horn coral fossils are inexpensive, in the neighborhood of $1-$5. There are some exceptions. Large well formed pieces command moderate prices, $5-$25. Very rare species, or unique fossilizations like the red agatized (red jasper ) horn coral from Utah, get pricey perhalps up to $100. Large showy groupings can be very expensive and often end up in museum displays.
A note about the red horn coral from Utah: As far as I know this is the only place in the world where horn coral with this kind of fossilization is found. At one time this material was actively mined for its beauty and popularity as jewelry pieces. The mines have closed down, and Red Agatized Horn Coral is getting harder to find.
