Name/Title
Colonial rugose corals - HexagonariaEntry/Object ID
2022.2.27.8Description
This colonial rugose coral Hexagonaria is a fossil of the Columbus Limestone originating from the Devonian Period, 360 – 419 million years ago.
According to, Statehouse Fossils: A guide to fossils of the Ohio Capitol, colonial corals share a common skeletal framework. They are essentially a series of joined calcareous tubes called corallites, each with a single living coral polyp residing at the top or outermost portion. Rugose corals, both colonial and solitary, had prominent septa, which in corals are the longitudinal partitions of the corallites that extend from the inner walls of the tubes to the tube centers.
Hexagonaria and Prismatophyllum were colonial rugose corals with a similar appearance. Their corallites were shaped like hexagonal prisms (hence the genus name). Some Hexagonaria corals are better known as Petoskey Stones, after the city in northern Michigan. Local collectors polish wave-tumbled coral pieces found on the shores of Lake Michigan and sell them as souvenirs.
Statehouse Fossils-A guide to fossils of the Ohio Capital. Mark E Peter. ODNR Division of Geological Survey. Page 26Location
* Untyped Location
Kelley's Island State Park
