3" Cretaceous Fossil Soft Bodied Squid - Preserved Quill & Ink Sack

This is a 3" long, soft-bodied fossil squid from the Upper Cretaceous marine deposits of Lebanon. Soft bodied organisms are uncommon in the fossil record. This squid fossil still has a preserved quill and ink sack from the body of a cephalopod.

It comes with an acrylic display stand.

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Hjoula, 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 one of the quarries at Hjoula, Lebanon
A photo of one of the quarries at Hjoula, Lebanon
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidentified Squid & Carpopenaeus sp.
LOCATION
Hjoula, Byblos, Lebanon
FORMATION
Sannine Formation
SIZE
3" fossil squid, 4.6 x 3.25" rock
ITEM
#162759
GUARANTEE
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our specimens.