calcere

Calcere is a term found in a small number of historical mineralogical texts for a supposed carbonate mineral. It is not an officially recognized mineral, and it has no accepted chemical formula, crystallography, or name in current catalogs and databases maintained by mineralogists. In modern terminology, calcere is regarded as a historical misidentification or a nomenclatural anomaly rather than a valid species.

Etymology and usage contexts: The name derives from Latin roots related to lime or calcium, with the suffix -ere appearing in some 19th- and early 20th-century mineral terms. In the few older references, calcere was sometimes described in passing as a calcium-rich carbonate distinct from calcite or dolomite, but such descriptions lack consistent criteria or corroborating specimens.

History and status: The term appears in scattered field reports from hydrothermal or carbonate-rich environments. Subsequent analyses and reclassifications attributed the samples to known minerals such as calcite, dolomite, or mixtures thereof. Because no verifiable specimen has been publicly documented or deposited, calcere has not entered current mineralogical practice and is often cited as an example of historic misidentification or nomenclatural confusion.

Potential descriptions and limitations: Descriptions in the surviving literature are inconsistent and often vague. Because there is no confirmed material, there is no reliable set of physical properties, chemical composition, or crystallography to anchor the term.

See also: Calcite, Dolomite, Mineral nomenclature, Nomen dubium.