Tasmanite (mineral)

In appearance, Tasmanite is a fossilized amorphous mass containing large quantities of remains of spores (cysts) and pollen.

[3] The color of the differences is always dark, mixed, the tonality varies depending on the location in the range from gray-brown to black; Due to the high spore content, most samples appear to be covered in yellow pollen.

After burning Tasmanite, a small amount of white ash remains, retaining the shape of the original sample.

Fossil resin of a brownish-reddish color and gelified appearance was contained here not just in the form of inclusions, but in very large quantities, literally penetrating the entire layer, which was especially noticeable in the section.

[2] The organic mineraloid, described under the name Tasmanite, was translucent even when not polished, standing out sharply against the background of the main rock.

As it turned out, according to the results of the research, when heated, the mineral easily melted, emitting a strong odor, probably oil-like.

As the German petrographer M. Teichmüller [de] noted in a comparative study at the end of the 1960s, the appearance of a reddish tint for liptobiolites formed by this alga is characteristic of the fatty carbon stage.

[9] Taking into account all known data, it would be most accurate to define “Tasmanian amber” as a compacted and partially purified infiltrate formed as a result of the metamorphism of the Late Carboniferous shale of the same name.

Fossil resins in general are often called amber, since this mineraloid is undoubtedly the most popular and well known among other stones of organic origin.

It is obvious that tasmanite can appear as a special regional liptobiolite among the specific names of natural resins of various origins adopted in the old mineralogical literature.