Pair Of Large, Naturally Associated Phareodus - Wall Mount

This is a beautiful, wall mountable, fossil fish plate from the Green River Formation of Wyoming. It contains a pair of large, naturally associated Phareodus, one of the more uncommon fish in the formation with excellent preservation. Both fish are just over 10" in length and elegantly presented on an artistically shaped 33" wide slab of shale. The shale has been backed with wood for stability and to make it easy to hang on a wall.

Fossil fish from the 18 inch layer split out "ghosted" underneath the surface of the rock. Typically only bumps from the back bone can be seen in faint relief against the surface of the rock. Because of this they typically collect this layer at night using high powered lighting which allow them to better see the shadows from these bumps on the rock. These fish must then be prepared removing all of the matrix from on top of them, a very meticulous and time consuming process.

If you look closely you can see how Phareodus has a mouthful of sharp pointy teeth making is a voracious lake predator. In fact the name Phareodus actually means "to have tooth" Spines from other fish such as Mioplosus and Priscacara have frequently been found preserved in it's stomach.