11.8" Uncommon Fish Fossil (Mioplosus) - Wyoming

This is an 11.8" long fossil fish (Mioplosus labracoides), one of the more uncommon species from the Green River Formation. It was collected from Warfield Quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming. It is nicely centered on a 15.25 x 8.5" slab of shale which has been backed with concrete board for stability.

It comes with a display stand or we can add a wall hanger upon request. There is a repaired crack in the shale that runs through the head of the fish.

Mioplosus is a genus of large extinct perciform fish that lived through the Eocene epoch. This genus is easily distinguished by an elongate fusiform body, double dorsal fins, and forked tail. Mioplosus was a solitary predator with large teeth: a few fossil specimens have been collected with other, smaller fish lodged in their throats. Most fossils of this genus are from the Tertiary-aged Green River Formation in Wyoming, though relatives of this genus are known to range throughout Asia and New Zealand. Mioplosus is also believed to be related to the modern pike-perch of the genus Sander (Stizostedion).

50 million years ago, in the Eocene, 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.
A view of one of the commercial quarries where fossils from the Green River Formation are collected.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Mioplosus labracoides
LOCATION
Fossil Safari Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation
SIZE
11.8" long on 15.25 x 8.5" rock
CATEGORY
ITEM
#252057
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