Four Fossil Pearls (1 Rope Pearl) on Oyster Shell - Kansas

These are a magnificent display of fossil pearls collected from The Smokey Hill Chalk Beds near Gove County, Kansas. There are a total of four pearls in this clutch attached to an inocerminid oyster shell fragment. Two of the pearls are encased, one is exposed and the other is a very rare "rope pearl" (referring to the appearance of the pearl on a string). Pearls do not often preserve as they are composted of Aragonite which is not as stable as the calcite of the oyster shell. The largest pearl is .66" wide. Below is a link to article talking more specifically about this specimen.

The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk formation is a Cretaceous conservation Lagerstätte, or fossil rich geological formation, known primarily for its exceptionally well-preserved marine reptiles. It outcrops in parts of northwest Kansas, its most famous localities for fossils, and in southeastern Nebraska. Large well-known fossils excavated from the Smoky Hill Chalk include marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, large bony fish such as Xiphactinus, mosasaurs, flying reptiles or pterosaurs (namely Pteranodon), flightless marine birds such as Hesperornis, and turtles. Many of the most well-known specimens of the marine reptiles were collected by dinosaur hunter Charles H. Sternberg and his son George.