Fossil Flying Fish (Exocoetoides) From Lebanon

This is a rare, fossil flying fish of the species Exocoetoides minor quarried near Haqil, Lebanon. The detailed preservation on this specimen is simply beautiful and it's nicely centered on a 2.7" square piece of matrix.

Exocoetoides is the smallest of all flying fishes and does not exceed 7 cm in length. They are actually not related to present day flying fishes that belong to a completely different and more evolved family. But, like present day flying-fishes it's thought that they were able to glide (fly) over the water to escape predators due to their body type.

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Haqil, 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.

I included several photos of quarrying work at Haqil in the photo set.