FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jean Sendero]

The topic of Type Localities for mineral species is rarely spoken about. I have recently taken an interest in acquiring type locality specimens from each species that is listed for Mexico (78 of them). In the process, and I and still in the process of completing the collection, I noticed that 12 species are coming from meteorites, either the Puebilito de Allende meteorite, or the Coahuila meteorite or the Toluca meteorite.

Considering that these are non terrestrial objects, is it correct to list these meteorites and the places they fell as type localities? Surely, it is on earth that they were found or described for the first time by the human race but should the locality be from outer space and not where they landed?

Any thoughts from anyone?

Cheers

Jean

[gemlover]

I would include both situations in my listing. The specimen would be labelled as being a meteorite found at the earthly location.

John

[Peter Megaw]

I think that by definition "meteorite" imcorporates and understood extraterrestrial origin and listing "space" as its locality is fun but unnecessary. An exception would be the few cases where the source can actually be known ...Lunar and Martian meteorites for example.

[Pete Modreski]

And, Jean, I think everyone agrees that the type locality is not so much the place (town, or whatever) on earth where it fell, but the meteorite itself. Both Mindat and the 2008 Glossary of Mineral Species list the name of the meteorite as the type locality. It is to specimens of the meteorite that one would have to go if one wanted to restudy something about that occurrence of the mineral--not to the geographic location at which it was found (unless of course, one could be so lucky as to go there and find another piece of the meteorite).

For example, the Toluca meteorite Toluca is the type locality for haxonite (an iron-nickel carbide); the type locality is given as,
Toluca meteorite, Jiquipilco (Xiquipilco), Mexico, Mexico

It would only be partially correct to give "Toluca" as the type locality, because the TL is the Toluca METEORITE. And of course, it's just an inference beyond that (a pretty certain one in some cases, more in debate for some others and completely unknown for most) as to what body in the solar system the meteorite originated.

[Riccardo Modanesi]

Hi to everybody!
Ok type locality is important for knowing well all kinds of minerals we deal with every day. Nevertheless I think it's a bigger new if we are dealing for example with a diamond coming from the Alps or from Barcelona, than dealing with a South_African one. Infact we all know diamonds are relatively common in South Africa, while a stone this specie found in Spain would be the second European occurrence in history! (the 1st was in 1994 in FInnmark, at the border Norway/Finnland). Therefor my opinion is: the newer the locality, the newer the specimen, the more appreciated it is! Take it as an opinion, of course!
Greetings from Italy by Riccardo