Sarcolite

Sarcolite is a mineral named due to its color. Its name originates from the Greek word sárx (σάρξ), meaning flesh and from the Greek word for stone, líthos (λίθος), for being a mineral. It was first described in 1959, but had been a valid species since 1807.

There are controversial studies surrounding this mineral. Many reference works claim Thomson to be the discoverer of sarcolite, but there are two controversial statements regarding the subject. First one being, that the name Thomson is usually misspelled, and written as Thompson. Allegedly, Thomson is the correct way of spelling, as there's evidence to it from his books that he had signed, and from his will. The second being is that Thomson died in 1806, and no paper by him was found in 1807, and no one quoted the actual publication. Sarcolite was originally described by Vauquelin, who used the name Tompson, whereas Haüy refers to "M. Thomson", allegedly correctly. It was established that Vauquelin's material mentioned on the paper wasn't sarcolite however, but in fact gmelinite, which also grows in lavas. Dana spells it correctly, however in the fifth edition it is spelled Thompson, due to Faujas-Saint-Fond's letter to Naples mentioning Thomson's death. Vauquelin's spelling doesn't seem to be repeated however.^[8]

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