STONY IRON METEORITE

any meteorite containing substantial amounts of both stone (silicate) and metal (nickel and iron) intermixed. It is an intermediate type between the two commoner, relatively pure types, called stony meteorites and iron meteorites. In some stony irons, known as pallasites (formerly called lithosiderites), the nickel-iron is a coherent mass enclosing separated stony parts; others, the mesosiderites (formerly termed siderolites), are similar to stony meteorites but contain an unusually large quantity of interspersed metal.