aragonite

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an orthorhombic mineral form of calcium carbonate, denser than calcite and common in shells, pearls, coral skeletons, and some cave deposits

   The inner nacreous layer of the shell consisted largely of aragonite.

From German Aragonit, named for Molina de Aragon in Spain, near the mineral's reported type locality, + the mineral suffix -ite. Aragonite and calcite have the same chemical formula, CaCO3, but different crystal structures.

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