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The vast North American Phosphoria Rock Complex might be rich in silica because it was home to millions of sea sponges almost 300 million years ago, whose fossils were misdiagnosed until now

11.12.25 | PLOS

Glass factory found: Basinwide (600 km) preservation of sponges on the Phosphoria glass ramp, Permian, USA

Meadows of sponges once covered nearly 400 miles (600 km) of the ancient seafloor of western U.S.A. Credit: A.M. Rasmussen, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The vast North American Phosphoria Rock Complex might be rich in silica because it was home to millions of sea sponges almost 300 million years ago, whose fossils were misdiagnosed until now

Article URL : http://plos.io/47syMdi

Article title: Glass factory found: Basinwide (600 km) preservation of sponges on the Phosphoria glass ramp, Permian, USA

Author countries: U.S.

Funding: WM- Idaho State University Geosciences Geslin Award, https://www.isu.edu/geosciences/resources/endowments_grants_scholarships/Tobacco WM- Root Geological Society, www.trgs.org KR- ACS PRF 56988, American Chemical Society, https://www.acs.org/ ZW-Paleontological Society Student Research Grant.

PLOS One

10.1371/journal.pone.0333211

Glass factory found: Basinwide (600 km) preservation of sponges on the Phosphoria glass ramp, Permian, USA

12-Nov-2025

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Additional Media

Sponge hand sample. Credit: Idaho State University, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Keywords

Archaeological Periods Archaeology Social Sciences

Article Information

Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0333211

Article Publication Date

2025-11-12

Article Title

Glass factory found: Basinwide (600 km) preservation of sponges on the Phosphoria glass ramp, Permian, USA

COI Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Contact Information

Hanna Abdallah

PLOS

onepress@plos.org

How to Cite This Article

APA:

PLOS. (2025, November 12). The vast North American Phosphoria Rock Complex might be rich in silica because it was home to millions of sea sponges almost 300 million years ago, whose fossils were misdiagnosed until now. Brightsurf News. https://www.brightsurf.com/news/LVDG633L/the-vast-north-american-phosphoria-rock-complex-might-be-rich-in-silica-because-it-was-home-to-millions-of-sea-sponges-almost-300-million-years-ago-whose-fossils-were-misdiagnosed-until-now.html

MLA:

"The vast North American Phosphoria Rock Complex might be rich in silica because it was home to millions of sea sponges almost 300 million years ago, whose fossils were misdiagnosed until now." Brightsurf News, Nov. 12 2025, https://www.brightsurf.com/news/LVDG633L/the-vast-north-american-phosphoria-rock-complex-might-be-rich-in-silica-because-it-was-home-to-millions-of-sea-sponges-almost-300-million-years-ago-whose-fossils-were-misdiagnosed-until-now.html.