{"product_id":"japanese-star-sand","title":"Japanese Star Sand","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis “sand” is actually not sand at all. Rather than rock fragments, it is made of tiny, star-shaped exoskeletons. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe recommend examining them under a \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/magnification\"\u003emagnifier\u003c\/a\u003e or microscope for a closer look.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOkinawan star sand displayed in a round acrylic case. \u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContainer Dimensions: 1.75\" x .25\" \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stemcell Science Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53173799125103,"sku":"JA-0120","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0715\/2074\/7631\/files\/japanese-star-sand-ja-0120-206630.jpg?v=1780156820","url":"https:\/\/secretstashspot.com\/products\/japanese-star-sand","provider":"SecretStashSpot ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}