11.9" Shale With Fourteen Fossil Fish Including Eurypholis

Shale With Fourteen Fossil Fish Including Eurypholis #200811

This is a 3.4" long example of an uncommon predatory fish (Eurypholis sp.). This fish was quarried from the famous Upper Cretaceous age marine lagerstätte near Hakel, Lebanon. It has excellent preservation that highlights many fine details. There are thirteen additional fish fossils imbedded in the limestone as well as some fossilized remains on the back of the rock. There is a repaired crack running vertically through the limestone and one of the smaller fish that was professionally stabilized.

Comes with an acrylic and metal display stand.

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Hakel, Lebanon dates back many centuries. In fact, they were first mentioned in writing by Herodotus, over 450 years before the birth of Christ. The first scientific work on these localities began in the 1800s: these deposits have been meticulously quarried by several Lebanese families for over a century. We purchase our specimens directly from one of these families.

These deposits represent a warm, shallow sea of the Middle Cretaceous, and have yielded over 70 types of fish and numerous other genera found nowhere else in the world. The preservation on many of these specimens is truly amazing: many examples of soft bodied preservation have been found.

A photo of the quarry at Hakel, Lebanon