Minerals of the rutile group are related by structure and crystallography but have little in common in their paragenesis owing to the great dissimilarity of the cations. The rutile structure is composed of chains of MO6 octahedra distorted by the sharing of octahedral edges. The M site may be occupied by Sn ( cassiterite ), Pb ( plattnerite ), Mn ( pyrolusite ), Ti ( rutile ), or Si ( stishovite ). Rutile is trimorphous with anatase and brookite . Stishovite is polymorphous with quartz, tridymite , cristobalite , and coesite .
Crystals are typically tetragonal prisms ranging from stubby to slender, capped by tetragonal bipyramids, and not uncommonly twinned. Rutile crystals are typically striated parallel to the prism axis. Pyrolusite is frequently dendritic (see Skeletal Crystals). Stishovite grains are in the submicron size range.
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Deer, W. A.; Howie, R. A.; and Zussman, J., 1966. An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals. London: Longman, 415–417.
Phillips, W. R., and Griffen, D. T., 1981. Optical Mineralogy: The Nonopaque Minerals. San Francisco: Freeman, 19–20.
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© 1981 Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company
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Frye, K. (1981). Rutile group. In: Mineralogy. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_126
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_126
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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