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This Specimen has been sold.
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15.8" Fossil Fish (Diplomystus) From 18 Inch Layer - Hanger Installed
This is an absolutely gorgeous 15.8" long Diplomystus dentatus from the famous 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation. The preparation of this piece is excellent and it's nicely centered on an unbroken 21.3 x 11.8" slab of shale that features dark and detailed preseration. It is a truly top quality Diplomystus.
The plate is artistically cut, backed with wood and has a wall hanger installed to display in the pictured orientation.
The plate is artistically cut, backed with wood and has a wall hanger installed to display in the pictured orientation.
About The 18 Inch Layer Of Fossil Lake
Specimens of this quality come from the coveted 18-inch layer of the Green River Formation, a horizon renowned for producing exceptionally dark, detailed, and well-preserved fossil fish. The limestone from this layer is significantly harder and more durable than that found in many other parts of the formation, likely a result of the deep-water conditions under which it was originally deposited.
These conditions helped preserve fish in remarkable completeness, allowing exceptional specimens to be recovered largely intact. Locating them is a specialized process. The layer is often worked at night using low-angle lighting, which reveals the subtle raised contours created by a fossil fish—particularly the backbone—hidden beneath the surface of the limestone.
A view of the 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation at the Lindgren quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Once identified, the surrounding rock is carefully cut away and the specimen is transported to a preparation laboratory. Because the fossil may lie as much as an inch beneath the surface, exposing it requires painstaking work under magnification. Skilled preparators use fine hand tools to gradually remove the overlying limestone, revealing the fossil in extraordinary detail while preserving the delicate bones beneath.
Specimens of this quality come from the coveted 18-inch layer of the Green River Formation, a horizon renowned for producing exceptionally dark, detailed, and well-preserved fossil fish. The limestone from this layer is significantly harder and more durable than that found in many other parts of the formation, likely a result of the deep-water conditions under which it was originally deposited.
These conditions helped preserve fish in remarkable completeness, allowing exceptional specimens to be recovered largely intact. Locating them is a specialized process. The layer is often worked at night using low-angle lighting, which reveals the subtle raised contours created by a fossil fish—particularly the backbone—hidden beneath the surface of the limestone.
A view of the 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation at the Lindgren quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Once identified, the surrounding rock is carefully cut away and the specimen is transported to a preparation laboratory. Because the fossil may lie as much as an inch beneath the surface, exposing it requires painstaking work under magnification. Skilled preparators use fine hand tools to gradually remove the overlying limestone, revealing the fossil in extraordinary detail while preserving the delicate bones beneath.
SPECIES
Diplomystus dentatus
LOCATION
Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation, 18 Inch Layer
SIZE
15.8" fish on 21.3 x 11.8" shale
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#130448
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