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Large, 16.9" Fossil Fish (Diplomystus) - Wyoming
This is a 16.9" long fossil fish (Diplomystus) from the famous 18 Inch Layer of the Green River Formation near Kemmerer, Wyoming. This specimen shows excellent preservation of bones and fin rays.
We can install a concrete board backing and wall hanger at no addition cost, upon request. Otherwise, this specimen will be accompanied by a display stand.
We can install a concrete board backing and wall hanger at no addition cost, upon request. Otherwise, this specimen will be accompanied by a display stand.
About Diplomystus
Diplomystus is an extinct genus of freshwater, ray-finned predators that are distantly related to modern herrings and sardines. Diplomystus has a distinctive jaw that protrudes aggressively outward from the mouth at an angle that allowed it to feed in surface waters and devour such prey as the smaller, schooling Knightia.
50 million years ago in the Eocene (55.8 mya to 33.8 mya), D. dentatus thrived in lakes fed by the Uinta and Rocky Mountain highlands. D. dentatus is uniquely entombed in the fine-grained lime mud of Fossil Lake.
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 in 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.
By the end of the Eocene, Earth developed icehouse climate characteristics and had a change in atmospheric chemistry. The effects of bolide impacts may also have contributed to the eventual loss of flora and fauna at once verdant latitudes.
Today the wonderfully preserved fossils of Diplomystus and other Fossil Lake fauna are collected in several private quarries around Kemmerer, Wyoming. The best preserved fish fossils come from the coveted 18 Inch Layer. This layer is collected at night under high-powered lights, enhancing the faint signs of fish under the surface indicating underlying fossils. These “ghosted” fish then must go through many hours of manual preparation to remove the overlying rock and reveal the Green River fauna in all of its glory.
Diplomystus is an extinct genus of freshwater, ray-finned predators that are distantly related to modern herrings and sardines. Diplomystus has a distinctive jaw that protrudes aggressively outward from the mouth at an angle that allowed it to feed in surface waters and devour such prey as the smaller, schooling Knightia.
50 million years ago in the Eocene (55.8 mya to 33.8 mya), D. dentatus thrived in lakes fed by the Uinta and Rocky Mountain highlands. D. dentatus is uniquely entombed in the fine-grained lime mud of Fossil Lake.
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 in 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.
By the end of the Eocene, Earth developed icehouse climate characteristics and had a change in atmospheric chemistry. The effects of bolide impacts may also have contributed to the eventual loss of flora and fauna at once verdant latitudes.
Today the wonderfully preserved fossils of Diplomystus and other Fossil Lake fauna are collected in several private quarries around Kemmerer, Wyoming. The best preserved fish fossils come from the coveted 18 Inch Layer. This layer is collected at night under high-powered lights, enhancing the faint signs of fish under the surface indicating underlying fossils. These “ghosted” fish then must go through many hours of manual preparation to remove the overlying rock and reveal the Green River fauna in all of its glory.
SPECIES
Diplomystus dentatus
LOCATION
Kemmerer, WY
FORMATION
Green River Formation, 18 Inch Layer
SIZE
16.9" fish on 20.2 x 12.3" rock
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#144001
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