A mound or ridge-shaped structure made of the skeletal remains of corals, mollusks, and other marine organisms that accumulated in ancient oceans.
From bio- 'life' and Greek herma 'reef' or 'stone heap.' Geologists created this term in the early 1900s to describe fossil reef structures preserved in rock layers.
Bioherms are underwater time capsules—a single fossil bioherm from 300 million years ago can tell you exactly what the ocean was like, what lived there, and even what the climate was!
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