Editing Pseudomorph (section)

==In other fields==

Pseudomorphs are also common in '''[[paleontology]]'''. [[Fossil]]s are often formed by pseudomorphic replacement of the remains by mineral matter. Examples include [[petrified wood]] and [[pyrite|pyritized]] [[Gastropod shell|gastropod shells]].

In '''[[biology]]''', a pseudomorph is a cloud of mucus-rich ink released by many species of [[cephalopod]]. The name refers to the similarity in appearance between the cephalopod that released it and the cloud itself, in this context meaning literally "false body". This behaviour often allows the cephalopod to escape from predation unharmed, and is often performed as part of what is known as the [[cephalopod ink|blanch-ink-jet maneuver]].

In '''[[philosophy]]''', the concept of pseudomorphosis was used by the German philosopher [[Oswald Spengler]] to describe how the forms of an older, more widely dispersed culture affect the expression of forms of a younger, emerging culture. The latter develop into forms that are fundamentally alien to the culture's own world-feeling and thereby prevent it from fully developing its own self-consciousness.<ref>O. Spengler, ''The Decline of the West'', vol. 2, chapter III 'Problems of the Arabian culture', I 'Historic pseudomorphoses'</ref>

In '''[[archaeology]]''', organic pseudomorphs are impressions of organic material that can accumulate on the surface of metal artifacts as they corrode. They may occur when metal artifacts are buried in contact with organics under damp soil.<ref>de Alarcon, Tessa "[https://www.penn.museum/blog/collection/conservation/of-daggers-and-scabbards-evidence-from-organic-pseudomorphs-and-x-radiography/ Of Daggers and Scabbards: Evidence of Organic Pseudomorphs and X-Radiography.]" Penn Museum Blog. 16 April 2016.</ref>