4.2" Fossil "Sand Fish" (Charitosomus) - Lebanon

This is a 4.2" long fossil fish of the species Charitosomus hakelensis collected from the Upper Cretaceous, marine deposits of Lebanon. Charitosomus is a member of the family of bony fishes more commonly known as "sand fish". They likely preyed upon animals living on the sandy sea floor. It comes with an acrylic 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 1800's and these deposits have been meticulously quarried by several Lebanese families for over a century. We purchase our specimens directly from one of these families that have worked the quarries for generations.

These deposits represent a warm, shallow sea and have yielded over 70 types of fish as well as numerous other genre found no where else in the world. The preservation on many of these specimens is truly amazing including including examples of soft bodied preservation.