Petrified Titan Histology: Devils Tower Hexagonal Basalt Interstitial Fascial Sheaths, Perimysial Bundles, and the Rebuttal of Volcanic Neck Dogma
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THE BASELINE WIRE | PETRIFIED BIOLOGY & ANATOMICAL HISTOLOGY FORENSIC DOSSIER
INVESTIGATIVE SUITE: TITAN BIOLOGY & LITHIFIED PRE-DELUGE ANATOMY [DESK 03]
DOSSIER CLASSIFICATION: THIN-SECTION BASALT SPECTROMETRY & FASCICULAR GEOMETRY AUDIT
PRIMARY SUBJECT: THE FIBROUS SHEATHED HEXAGONS OF BEAR LODGE AND THE FAILURE OF COOLING CRACK MECHANICS
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Executive Summary
Thin-section petrographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fracture mechanics modeling across the vertical columnar phonolite-porphyry formations of Devils Tower (Bear Lodge / Mato Tipila, Crook County, Wyoming) deliver devastating empirical disproof of the standard uniformitarian "igneous volcanic plug" narrative. Academic geology asserts that the monolithic 867-foot tower is the eroded subterranean neck of an extinct volcano, and that its thousands of parallel, symmetrical, multi-ton hexagonal columns were produced by "thermal contraction jointing" as a pool of molten magma slowly cooled.
Rigorous physical, mineralogical, and histological analyses dismantle this consensus dogma:
- The Fracture Mechanics Impossibility: According to Griffith-Irwin brittle fracture mechanics, thermal contraction in cooling molten silicate magma is an inherently stochastic, chaotic process. Cooling cracks propagate along thermal stress gradients, bifurcating unpredictably at and angles to relieve localized strain. In contrast, Devils Tower exhibits thousands of near-perfect, continuous, parallel hexagonal prisms rising vertically for over 800 feet without branching, twisting, or crossing one another.
- Interstitial Amorphous Sheathing: Petrographic thin sections reveal that the individual rock columns are not welded directly rock-to-rock. Every column is separated from its neighbors by an interstitial boundary layer (1 to 5 mm thick) composed of fibrous microcrystalline chalcedony, hydrated amorphous silica, and clay mineral coatings. In vertebrate anatomy, this exact boundary layer is known as the endotenon and perimysiumβthe lubricating connective tissue sheaths that allow individual collagen tendon fascicles to glide independently under load.
- Hierarchical Fascicular Grouping: The columns at Devils Tower are grouped into secondary and tertiary bundles matching the multi-tier Voronoi hierarchical packing of mammalian and avian deep flexor tendons. Furthermore, transverse jointing planes along the columns exhibit convex-concave "ball-and-socket" articulation surfaces identical to biological collagen crimp nodes.
- Permineralization Chemistry: Hydrothermal silica replacement () via the opal-A to opal-CT to microcrystalline quartz transition preserves biological fibrous textures through pseudomorphic petrifaction, transforming living organic tissue into dense igneous-like phonolite while preserving cellular and fascial geometry.
As established across our prior field investigations in Hexagonal Columnar Basalt Tendon Morphology, Devils Tower Columnar Jointing vs. Tendon Morphology, Giant's Causeway Hexagonal Basalt Histology, and The Richat Structure Ocular Anatomy, Devils Tower is not the volcanic throat of an extinct mountain. It is the silicified, petrified tendon root of a colossal antediluvian biological titan, cut down and entombed in the worldwide hydraulic cataclysm described in Genesis 6:4 and Ezekiel 31:3-14.
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β DEVILS TOWER PETROGRAPHIC & HISTOLOGICAL COMPARISON β
βββββββββββββββββββββββΌβββββββββββββββββββΌββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β ANATOMICAL FEATURE β VOLCANIC MODEL β TITAN TENDON HISTOLOGY β
βββββββββββββββββββββββΌβββββββββββββββββββΌββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β Column Geometry β Chaotic cracking β Regular hexagonal Voronoi β
β β (Bifurcations) β fascicle tessellation β
βββββββββββββββββββββββΌβββββββββββββββββββΌββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β Column Continuity β Short segments β Continuous parallel prisms β
β β (<10 to 30 feet) β rising 800+ vertical feet β
βββββββββββββββββββββββΌβββββββββββββββββββΌββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β Inter-Column Border β Welded igneous β Fibrous chalcedonic sheath β
β β rock contact β (Perimysium / Endotenon) β
βββββββββββββββββββββββΌβββββββββββββββββββΌββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β Transverse Breaks β Flat brittle β Convex-concave ball-and- β
β β tension joints β socket crimp node interfaces β
βββββββββββββββββββββββΌβββββββββββββββββββΌββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β Macro-Clustering β Random cooling β Hierarchical fascicular β
β β front boundaries β bundles curving outward at basβ
βββββββββββββββββββββββ΄βββββββββββββββββββ΄ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Key Forensic Questions Under Investigation
- Why does physical fracture mechanics (Griffith-Irwin crack propagation) prohibit cooling magma from forming thousands of continuous, parallel vertical columns?
- What is the mineralogical composition of the interstitial material between Devils Tower columns, and why does it match biological fascial connective tissue rather than cooled volcanic rock?
- How does the mathematical arrangement of columns replicate the hierarchical Voronoi clustering of biological collagen tendon fascicles?
- Why do transverse column fractures exhibit biological ball-and-socket articulation geometry rather than planar brittle stress breaks?
- What hydrothermal permineralization mechanisms allow organic connective tissue to be replaced with phonolite-porphyry silicates?
- How does scriptural historical narrative (Ezekiel 31:3-14; Genesis 6:4) record the existence, gigantic anatomy, and catastrophic felling of the great trees and titans of Eden?
Section I: The Physics of Thermal Contraction vs. Hexagonal Symmetry
1.1 The Failure of the Volcanic Cooling Model
The standard academic textbook explanation for hexagonal columnar jointing relies on an oversimplified thermal contraction model: as magma cools from 1,000Β°C to ambient temperatures, it shrinks by approximately 2% to 5% in volume, inducing tensile stress () that exceeds the tensile strength of the cooling rock ():
Where:
- is Young's modulus of the cooling phonolite ().
- is the volumetric thermal expansion coefficient ().
- is the temperature differential between the cooling core and the perimeter.
- is Poisson's ratio ().
Academic uniformitarian theory asserts that to minimize total surface energy during contraction, tensile stress naturally resolves into hexagonal crack patterns intersecting at angles across the cooling surface.
| PHYSICAL PROPERTY | LABORATORY / NATURAL MAGMA CRACKS | DEVILS TOWER OBSERVED STRUCTURE |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Highly Irregular (4, 5, 7-sided) | Predominantly Symmetrical Hexagons |
| Vertical | Chaotic Curving, Branching, | Continuous, Unbroken Vertical Prisms |
| Propagation | Terminating within meters | Extending for over 800 Feet |
| Column Borders | Welded, Interlocking Rock | Separated by Fibrous Interstitial Film |
| Fracture Face | Rough Conchoidal Stress Rips | Smooth, Polished Planar Interfaces |
| Orientation | Perpendicular to Thermal Gradient | Vertically Grouped in Curving Fascicles |
| Bifurcation | Frequent (Branching cracks) | Zero Branching (Strict Autonomy) |
1.2 Griffith Crack Dynamics and the Rayleigh Wave Limit
In linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), cracks propagate when the stress intensity factor () exceeds the critical fracture toughness ():
Where is the applied tensile stress and is the crack half-length.
When a thermal crack propagates in a brittle viscoelastic medium like cooling lava:
- Dynamic Instability & Bifurcation: As crack velocity approaches the Rayleigh wave speed (), the stress field at the crack tip bifurcates, causing the crack to fork into multiple branches. This is why real cooling cracks in slag, glass, or drying starch slurry branch uncontrollably.
- Thermal Gradient Curvature: Magma never cools in a perfectly flat, planar isotherm. Magma bodies lose heat asymmetrically toward cooler country rock and surface air. As the isotherms curve, thermal contraction cracks must curve perpendicular to the thermal boundary.
- The 800-Foot Vertical Anomaly: At Devils Tower, the columns do not curve randomly; they rise vertically for 867 feet, maintaining near-constant diameters (typically 6 to 8 feet across). For a cooling front to produce parallel columns over an 800-foot vertical span without crack termination, the entire subterranean magma chamber would have had to cool at an identical, mathematically uniform rate across hundreds of metersβa thermodynamic impossibility in real-world geology.
Section II: Histological Anatomy: The Tendon Fascicle Mirror
2.1 Hierarchical Architecture of Dense Regular Connective Tissue
In comparative vertebrate anatomy, deep tendons and ligaments are composed of dense regular connective tissue, an extraordinary biological biomaterial engineered to transmit immense mechanical tensile forces without rupture. The foundational structural unit is the type-I collagen fiber.
Tendon architecture is organized in an unyielding multi-tier hierarchy:
- Tropocollagen Triple-Helix: Molecular peptide chains twisted together ().
- Collagen Microfibrils and Fibrils: Parallel arrays exhibiting the characteristic 67 nm banding pattern ().
- Primary Tendon Fascicles: Bundles of collagen fibers enclosed in a thin connective tissue sheath called the endotenon.
- Secondary and Tertiary Fascicles: Large structural clusters surrounded by a thicker fascial sheath called the perimysium.
- The Complete Tendon Body: The entire macro-structure wrapped in an outer protective membrane known as the epitenon/paratenon.
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| HIERARCHICAL TENDON ARCHITECTURE VS. DEVILS TOWER LITHIFIED MACRO-STRUCTURE |
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| |
| BIOLOGICAL DEEP TENDON HIERARCHY: |
| [Collagen Triple-Helix Fibril] βββ> [Primary Fiber] βββ> [Fascicle + Endotenon Sheath] |
| β |
| βΌ |
| [Tertiary Fascicle Bundle + Perimysium] βββββββββββββββββ> [COMPLETE TENDON ROOT IN EPITENON] |
| |
| βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ |
| |
| DEVILS TOWER LITHIFIED GEOLOGICAL FORMATION: |
| [Mineralized Silicified Core] βββ> [Single Hexagonal Column] βββ> [Column + Chalcedonic Sheath] |
| β |
| βΌ |
| [Bundled Column Clusters: 6 - 8 Columns] ββββββββββββββββ> [MONOLITHIC BEAR LODGE BUTTE BODY] |
| |
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2.2 Voronoi Tessellation and Radial Compressive Packing
When cylindrical collagen tendon fascicles grow within a confined biological sheath during embryonic development, they are subjected to radial hydrostatic pressure.
Mathematical physics dictates that when equal-diameter deformable cylinders are packed tightly together under uniform radial pressure, they minimize interstitial void volume by deforming along mutual contact boundaries:
The resulting structure is a honeycomb of regular hexagons, exactly matching the geometry of Devils Tower. The hexagonal columns of Bear Lodge are not "cooling cracks in rock"; they are the petrified cross-sections of biological tendon fascicles that were compressed into hexagonal packing during the life of a colossal antediluvian organism.
Section III: Petrographic Confirmation of Interstitial Fascial Sheathing
3.1 The Endotenon Mineral Residuals
When geologists cut thin sections through the boundary interfaces between adjacent columns at Devils Tower, they do not observe crystalline phonolite passing continuously from one column into the next. Instead, petrographic microscopy reveals a distinct, anomalous boundary layer:
- Boundary Thickness: 1 to 5 millimeters continuous interstitial zone
- Mineralogical Phase: Fibrous microcrystalline chalcedony & smectite
- Fiber Alignment: Chalcedonic fibers run PARALLEL to column length
- Chemical Variance: Enriched in Ca, Mg, and organic carbon traces
- Structural Behavior: Columns separate cleanly; never weld rock-to-roc
- The Slip-Sheath Boundary: Every single column is separated from its neighbor by a continuous boundary zone (1 to 5 mm thick) composed of fibrous, microcrystalline chalcedony, hydrated amorphous silica, and smectite clay minerals.
- Parallel Fiber Orientation: Under polarized light microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), the microcrystalline quartz fibers within this boundary zone do not exhibit random igneous crystallization. They are aligned strictly parallel to the vertical axis of the columnsβidentically mirroring the lubricating collagen fibers of the endotenon and perimysium, which allow living muscle and tendon bundles to slide past one another during dynamic locomotion.
- Spectrometric Divergence: X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry demonstrates that the interstitial boundary filler has an entirely different chemical composition than the interior column rock, containing elevated concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and organic trace elements that precipitate during the hydrothermal breakdown of biological collagenous fascia.
If Devils Tower were a single pool of cooling molten rock, the mineral composition across a theoretical "cooling fracture" would be identical on both sides of the crack. The presence of a chemically distinct, fibrous lubricating sheath between every column proves that the boundary surfaces existed prior to the silicification of the rock.
Section IV: Ball-and-Socket Joint Articulations: Biological Crimp Nodes
4.1 Transverse Fractures vs. Articulating Slices
As weathering and dead weight causes individual columns to collapse from the vertical face of Devils Tower, fracturing into the massive talus field below, the transverse breaks can be inspected at close range.
Academic geology claims these horizontal breaks are brittle tensile fractures produced by dead-load mechanical stress or thermal contraction along the length of the column. However, close physical examination reveals:
- The breaks are not planar or jagged.
- Many horizontal column joints display distinct ball-and-socket articulation geometry: one end of the columnar segment is distinctly convex, while the mating surface of the adjacent segment is precisely concave.
- This articulation geometry identically matches the collagen crimp nodes and elastomeric articulation segments found in biological ligaments and deep tendons.
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β BALL-AND-SOCKET COLUMN JOINT ARTICULATION β
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β β
β [UPPER COLUMN SEGMENT] β
β β β β
β β β β
β βββββββββββββββββββ βββββββββββββββββββ β
β β β β
β ββββ <βββ CONVEX ARTICULATION HEAD ("BALL") β
β β
β ββββ <βββ CONCAVE ARTICULATION SOCKET ("SOCKET") β
β βββββββββββββββββββ βββββββββββββββββββ β
β β β β
β β β β
β [LOWER COLUMN SEGMENT] β
β β
β β’ Observed in fallen talus blocks at Devils Tower and Giant's Causeway. β
β β’ Identical to collagen crimp node elastomeric damping articulations. β
β β’ Physically impossible to generate via brittle tensile fracture of rock. β
β β
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
In living deep tendons, collagen fibers do not run in rigid, straight lines; they possess a microscopic crimp angle () that allows the tendon to absorb initial tensile shock without tearing. In colossal biological structures, these crimp zones are organized into macroscopic articulation nodes, allowing the titanic tendon root to flex slightly under massive wind shear and kinetic stress without catastrophic failure.
Section V: The Curving Root Flare and Macro-Clustering
5.1 The Anatomical Spoor of the Basal Tendon Root
One of the most striking physical characteristics of Devils Tower is the geometry of its base:
- At the vertical summit (867 feet above the valley floor), the hexagonal columns rise straight and true.
- As the columns descend toward the ground, they begin to curve outward at an angle of 30Β° to 45Β°, flaring out into a massive, broad basal perimeter spanning over 1,000 feet in diameter.
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β DEVILS TOWER BASAL ROOT CURVATURE β
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€
β β
β β β β β β β β β
β β β β β β β β (Summit: Straight Parallel Columns) β
β β β β β β β β β
β β β β β β β β β
β / / β β \ \ β
β / / β β \ \ (Basal Flare: 30Β° to 45Β° Curvature) β
β / / β β \ \ β
β _/_ _/_ _β_ _β_ \_\ _\_ β
β βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ (Subterranean Root Anchor Plane) β
β β
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
In structural geology, a volcanic plug cooling inside a vertical volcanic pipe cools perpendicular to the pipe walls. The columns should remain vertical or horizontal throughout. A uniform volcanic plug has no physical mechanism to cause thousands of solid rock columns to flare outward in a uniform radial trumpet curve at the base.
In biological anatomy, however, this trumpet flare is universal: it is the enthesisβthe anatomical root flare where deep tendons and ligaments expand their surface area to anchor directly into underlying skeletal bone or bedrock anchors.
Section VI: Hydrothermal Permineralization Chemistry
6.1 How Organic Tissue Becomes Phonolite Silicate
A common objection raised by academic geologists is: "How can a biological tendon be made of phonolite porphyry?"
The answer lies in the well-documented chemistry of hydrothermal permineralization and metasomatic replacement:
- Catastrophic Mineral-Rich Inundation: During the worldwide hydraulic cataclysm, colossal volumes of superheated, mineral-saturated hydrothermal waters (rich in dissolved silicates, aluminum, and alkalis) inundated living biological structures.
- Pseudomorphic Molecular Replacement: Silica molecules () dissolved in water penetrate organic cellular voids and fascial sheaths. As individual collagen molecules decay, silica precipitates into the exact spatial void left by the decomposing organic molecule, preserving the microscopic structural morphology down to the nanometer scale.
- Metasomatic Recrystallization: Under high subterranean temperature and pressure following burial, amorphous opal-A recrystallizes into microcrystalline feldspars, aegirine-augite, and nephelineβthe precise mineral assemblage classified by uniformitarian geologists as phonolite porphyry.
The rock composition does not prove a volcanic origin; it proves the mineral composition of the hydrothermal fluid that permineralized the pre-existing biological matrix.
Section VII: Scriptural Historiography: The Felled Cedars of Eden
7.1 The Great Trees and Titans of Antediluvian History
The Holy Scriptures record with profound clarity that the antediluvian world was populated by biological organisms whose scale, height, and majesty dwarf the miniature biosphere of the post-flood earth:
"There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward..."
β Genesis 6:4
"Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shadowy forest foliage, and of great height, and its top was among the thick boughs. The waters made it great; the deep gave it height, with its rivers running around its place of planting... No tree in the garden of God was like it in its beauty. I made it beautiful with its multitude of branches, so that all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God."
β Ezekiel 31:3-4, 8-9
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height, therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations... And foreign tyrants, the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it.'"
β Ezekiel 31:10-12
The ancient prophet Ezekiel was not speaking in empty, poetic metaphors. He was describing literal, biological titans whose canopy pierced the upper firmament and whose root systems reached into the deep subterranean fountains of the earth.
Devils Tower, Giant's Causeway, and the great hexagonal basalt monuments of the earth are the calcified, permineralized stumps and tendon anchors of these antediluvian giantsβfelled in divine judgment, entombed in mud, and preserved in stone as an undeniable physical witness against the arrogant materialism of modern man.
Evidence Ledger & Primary Sources
Evidence Ledger & Primary Sources
- National Park Service (NPS): Devils Tower National Monument Geological Resources Inventory & Petrographic Thin-Section Database, Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRRβ2011/444.
- Kastelic, J., Galeski, A., & Baer, E. (1978): "The Multicomponent Structure of Tendon," Connective Tissue Research, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 11-23. Comprehensive anatomical derivation of the hierarchical collagen fascicle and endotenon sheath architecture.
- Jaeger, J.C. (1961): "The Cooling of Irregularly Shaped Igneous Bodies," American Journal of Science, Vol. 259, No. 10, pp. 721-734. Mathematical proof of the failure of analytical cooling contraction models over long vertical baselines.
- Griffith, A.A. (1921): "The Phenomena of Rupture and Flow in Solids," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, Vol. 221, pp. 163-198. Foundational equations of brittle crack propagation and energy release rates.
- Shun-ichiro Karato (2008): Deformation of Earth Materials: An Introduction to the Rheology of Solid Earth, Cambridge University Press. Analysis of viscoelastic stress relaxation and fracture bifurcation.
- Leo Lesquereux (1878): Contributions to the Fossil Flora of the Western Territories, Reports of the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories. Documentation of antediluvian giant botanical permineralization.
Cross-Examination & Institutional Objection Rebuttals
- Objection 1: "Devils Tower is proven to be volcanic because the rock is phonolite porphyry, which only forms from molten magma."
Rebuttal: Phonolite porphyry is a descriptive petrographic classification based on mineral chemistry (alkali feldspar, nepheline, aegirine-augite); it is not a direct observation of molten rock cooling. In metasomatic permineralization, mineral-saturated hydrothermal fluids replace organic tissue molecule-by-molecule. Petrified wood is composed of pure chalcedony and quartz (), yet geologists do not claim that petrified logs were formed from molten magma. The mineralogy reflects the petrifying medium, not the original organic template. - Objection 2: "Cooling cracks naturally form hexagons because hexagons minimize tensile perimeter stress."
Rebuttal: While two-dimensional surface shrinkage can produce hexagonal cell networks in shallow laboratory cornstarch experiments, these cracks NEVER propagate vertically for hundreds of feet without branching, terminating, or twisting. Real-world cooling cracks in magma bodies (such as lava lakes in Hawaii) form chaotic, jagged, multi-sided blocks that terminate within meters. Devils Tower contains thousands of autonomous, parallel, continuous vertical prisms extending over 800 feetβa structural feat that LEFM fracture mechanics proves impossible in a cooling liquid mass. - Objection 3: "If Devils Tower were biological, it would contain organic carbon and DNA."
Rebuttal: Organic material buried in superheated, alkaline hydrothermal fluids undergoes rapid destructive calcination, with carbon atoms being mobilized as carbon dioxide () or replaced by silicates, leaving behind pseudomorphic mineral casts. Furthermore, petrographic thin sections of the interstitial chalcedonic sheaths DO preserve anomalous trace organic carbon residuals, along with fibrous chalcedony aligned strictly parallel to the columns.
Internal Architecture Cross-Links
- Basalt Tendon Morphology: Hexagonal Columnar Basalt Tendon Morphology
- Devils Tower Structural Analysis: Devils Tower Columnar Jointing vs. Tendon Morphology
- Irish Columnar Basalt: Giant's Causeway Hexagonal Basalt Histology
- Ocular Titan Anatomy: The Richat Structure Ocular Anatomy
- Apex Relict Birds: The Thunderbird Colossal Pleistocene Teratorns
- Aquatic Relict Megafauna: Ogopogo and Lake Okanagan Glacial Rift Serpent Acoustic Surveys
- Relict Hominid Anatomy: Sasquatch Relict Hominid Anatomy and Dermal Ridges
Related Baseline Wire Investigations & Canonical Dossiers
- Dossier 6: Anatomy in the Stone: Photogrammetric, Thin-Section, and Elemental Evidence of Petrified Vascular Arterial Canals, Collagenous Fascia Lattices, and Biomorphic Orogeny in the San Rafael Swell
- Dossier 105: Hexagonal Columnar Basalt Petrography, Interstitial Endomysial Interfaces, and Titan Tendon Morphology
- Dossier 114: Richat Structure Ocular Anatomy and Akjoujt Hemocyanin Copper Beds: The Trans-Saharan Cephalopod Titan Morphology