Glossary :: C

Calcite

Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃). Exists as two forms, low and high Mg. Only low Mg is stable at the Earth's surface.

Cambrian

The earliest defined geological period spanning 550-510Ma. Time before the Cambrian is referred to as the Pre-Cambrian, making the Cambrian the first period of the Paleozoic Era. All fossils are marine from this period and the beginning of this period saw...More

Carboniferous

The fifth period of the Palaeozoic. Spans 353-290Ma, Famous for the extensive coal beds found throughout the UK.Epochs:Stephanian 302-290MaWestphalian 313-302MaNamurian 323-313MaVis�an 341-323MaTournaisian 353-341Ma...More

Cast

The infill of a fossil mould.

Chalk

A fine grained, white calcium carbonate composed of coccoliths. Common in the Cretaceous of western Europe.

Chert

Microcrystalline silica (SiO₂).

Citrine

Variety of quartz. Yellow-orange in colour.

Cladogenesis

The evolution of two or more daughter species from a single parent species by the splitting of a lineage.

Cleavage

The distinct planes of weakness that a mineral breaks along.

Cline

A gradual change in an allele frequency or in the mean of a character over a geographic boundary.

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