Rare, 4.2" Fossil Fish (Amphiplaga) - Green River Formation

Rare, Fossil Fish (Amphiplaga) - Green River Formation #143760

This is a beautifully preserved, 4.2" wide Amphiplaga fossil. Amphiplaga brachyptera are one of the rarer fish in the Green River Formation, making up much less than 1% of the total fish population. It's a small fish; this individual is rather large for the species at 3.35" and is a member of the "trout-perch" family. Because of its rarity it was almost certainly solitary, not a schooling fish like the more common species found in the lake. At over 4" long this specimen is gigantic for the species.

This specimen includes an acrylic display stand.

About Fossil Lake

50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, these fish thrived in Fossil Lake, which was fed by the Uinta and Rocky Mountain highlands. The anoxic conditions at the bottom of Fossil Lake slowed bacterial decomposition, prevented scavengers from disturbing corpses, and, most interestingly, suffocated creatures that ventured into the oxygen-starved aquatic layer. The result is a miraculous exhibition of Eocene biota: a subtropical aquatic community within sycamore forests, teeming with creatures such as freshwater stingrays, dog-sized horses, menacing alligators, early flying bats, and one of the first primates.

A view of one of the commercial quarries where fossils from the Green River Formation are collected.

SPECIES

Amphiplaga brachyptera

AGE

Eocene (~51 million years)