4.75" Very Rare Cretaceous Fossil Bony Fish (Telepholis) - Lebanon

Very Rare Cretaceous Fossil Bony Fish (Telepholis) - Lebanon #173372

This is a 4.75" long example of the rare Cretaceous bony fish, Telepholis sp.. This fish was quarried from the famous Upper Cretaceous age, marine lagerstätte near Hjoula, Lebanon. Outstanding dark orange colored preservation which contrasts nicely against the creme colored limestone. This is one of the best Telepholis specimens ever collected by our supplier!

There is no repair or restoration to the fossil or rock. 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