23" Fossil Fish (Notogoneus) From Wyoming - Huge For Species!

This is a huge, 23" long Notogoneus osculus, one of the more uncommon fish found in the Green River Formation. It was collected recently from the Lindgren Quarry, near Kemmerer, WY. The rock it was on is fairly thin so it has been backed with wood for stability and also to make it easy to install a wall hanger.

Notogoneus was a predator and the down-turned mouth is probably an indicator that it fed on prey at the lakes bottom. It is thought that it's scarcity results from the fact that it is felt it migrated between the lake and the rivers that fed it throughout the year to feed.

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

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Notogoneus osculus
LOCATION
Lindgren Quarry, Kemmerer, WY
FORMATION
Green River Formation, 18 Inch Layer
SIZE
23" on 27.6 x 13.5" rock
CATEGORY
ITEM
#163449
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