8.5" Cretaceous Fish (Spaniodon) With Pos/Neg - Hjoula, Lebanon

Cretaceous Fish (Spaniodon) With Pos/Neg - Hjoula, Lebanon #202167

This is a stunning, 8.5" long example of an uncommon Cretaceous fish, Spaniodon. This fish was quarried from the famous Upper Cretaceous age, marine lagerstätte near Hjoula, Lebanon. It features outstanding dark orange colored preservation which contrasts nicely against the creme colored limestone. The bone, fin, and teeth preservation of this fish is outstanding! Both the positive and negative splits of the fossil are included.

There is a repaired crack through each half of the split which runs through the head of the fish. Comes with a pair of acrylic display stands.

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