{"product_id":"japanese-star-sand-by-stemcell-science","title":"Japanese Star Sand","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis “sand” is actually not sand at all. Rather than rock fragments, it is made of tiny, star-shaped exoskeletons. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach piece is a exoskeleton of a tiny sea creature from the Foraminifera group. These amoeba-like organisms have existed for about 542 million years, and over 50,000 species are known. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir innumerable remains can be found on some beaches, but only a few beaches in the world are made of star sand. This particular sample is from Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eForaminifera are useful as index fossils, which means they can be used to date rock formations reliably. They are particularly helpful for the Permian, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Cenozoic time periods.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe recommend examining them under a \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/stemcell.eco\/collections\/magnification\"\u003emagnifier\u003c\/a\u003e or microscope for a closer look.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOkinawan star sand displayed in a round acrylic case. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContainer Dimensions: 1.75\" x .25\" \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stemcell Science","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45096471461957,"sku":"466325","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0686\/8271\/1109\/files\/Japanese-Star-Sand-by-Stemcell-Science-1.webp?v=1780500375","url":"https:\/\/a2zscience.com\/products\/japanese-star-sand-by-stemcell-science","provider":"A2Z Science \u0026 Toys","version":"1.0","type":"link"}