15.5" Cretaceous Swordfish (Protosphyraena) Pectoral Fin - Kansas

Cretaceous Swordfish (Protosphyraena) Pectoral Fin - Kansas #197482

This is a stunning, 15.5" long fossilized pectoral fin of a large swordfish (Protosphyraena). It was collected from the Cretaceous age Smoky Hill Chalk (Niobrara Formation) in Gove County, Kansas, making this fossil approximately 83 million years old. The preservation of this fin is impressive to say the least, with fine grooves that run parallel to the edge and an posterior fin edge that resembles a serrated blade. When viewing the edge of the rock, a cross section of the swordfish can be seen within.

Comes with a metal display stand.

There is about a one inch wide repaired crack through the proximal end of the fin where the rock broke and crumbled during collection. The fin within this crack has been restored, along with some restoration to the distal end (tip) of the fin.

Protosphyraena is a fossil genus of swordfish-like marine fish that had a worldwide distribution during the Upper Cretaceous Period. It was a large fish, averaging 2–3 meters in length. It shared the Cretaceous oceans with aquatic reptiles such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, as well as with many other species of extinct predatory fish. Though fossil remains of this taxon have been found in both Europe and Asia, it is perhaps best known from the Smoky Hill Member of the Niobrara Chalk Formation of Kansas.

The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk formation is a Cretaceous conservation Lagerstätte, or fossil-rich geological formation, known primarily for its exceptionally well-preserved marine reptiles. It outcrops in parts of northwest Kansas--its most famous localities for fossils--and in southeastern Nebraska. Large, well-known fossils excavated from the Smoky Hill Chalk include marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, large bony fish such as Xiphactinus, mosasaurs, pterosaurs, and turtles.