Reviews
14" Spectacular Fish Fossil (Phareodus) - Wyoming
This is a spectacular, 14" long fossil fish (Phareodus encaustus) from the Green River Formation of Wyoming. It was collected from the bottom cap just below the 18 inch layer this past summer. This layer has the best preservation in the quarry but the rock is much harder so it takes about 3x as long to prepare as fish from the 18 inch layer. It is nicely presented on a thick, hefty slab of limestone. A really stunning fish.
Phareodus is a genus of predatory freshwater fish found in the famous Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation in Wyoming. It had a mouthful of sharp pointy teeth, making it a voracious lake predator. In fact, the name Phareodus actually means "to have teeth". Spines from other fish such as Mioplosus and Priscacara have frequently been found preserved in their stomachs.
About Fossil Lake
50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, these fish thrived in Fossil Lake, which was fed by the Uinta and Rocky Mountain highlands. The anoxic conditions at the bottom of Fossil Lake slowed bacterial decomposition, prevented scavengers from disturbing corpses, and, most interestingly, suffocated creatures that ventured into the oxygen-starved aquatic layer. The result is a miraculous exhibition of Eocene biota: a subtropical aquatic community within sycamore forests, teeming with creatures such as freshwater stingrays, dog-sized horses, menacing alligators, early flying bats, and one of the first primates.
A view of one of the commercial quarries where fossils from the Green River Formation are collected.
50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, these fish thrived in Fossil Lake, which was fed by the Uinta and Rocky Mountain highlands. The anoxic conditions at the bottom of Fossil Lake slowed bacterial decomposition, prevented scavengers from disturbing corpses, and, most interestingly, suffocated creatures that ventured into the oxygen-starved aquatic layer. The result is a miraculous exhibition of Eocene biota: a subtropical aquatic community within sycamore forests, teeming with creatures such as freshwater stingrays, dog-sized horses, menacing alligators, early flying bats, and one of the first primates.
A view of one of the commercial quarries where fossils from the Green River Formation are collected.
SPECIES
Phareodus encaustus
LOCATION
Lindgren Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation - 18 Inch Layer (Bottom Cap)
SIZE
14" long on 18.5 x 10 x 1.8" rock, 31 lbs
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#309853
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