Radial aragonite ooids, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Abstract
Aragonite ooids have been discovered at Lizard Island in the northern Great Barrier Reef. The ooid cortices are composed of layers of radiating fibrous aragonite. The absence of diagenetic alteration and the open porous nature of the fibrous layers suggest a recent age of formation. Similar structures precipitated in the laboratory formed under conditions of nonagitation in both hy persaline and standard sea-water solutions.