ardealite
noun · first attested 1932
The mineral exists because of tens of thousands of cubic meters of fossil bat droppings.
A hydrated calcium phosphate sulfate, Ca2(HPO4)(SO4).4H2O, formed where bat guano reacts with limestone.
46.7667°N 23.5833°E · Q39473
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 1932
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Transylvania
- In English
ardealite
J. Schadler described ardealite in 1932 from the dry Cioclovina Cave in the Sureanu Mountains, using Ardeal, the Romanian name for Transylvania. The cave held a large fossil guano phosphate deposit, much of it mined for fertilizer in the first half of the twentieth century. The same cave is now counted among the richest mineralogical caves in the world.