5" Fossil Fish (Diplomystus) - Green River Formation

This is a beautifully preserved, 5" long Diplomystus dentatus from the famous 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation. It was collected this summer from Warfield's Quarry near Kemmerer, and the preparation in this piece is excellent. It comes with an acrylic display stand.

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
Diplomystus dentatus
LOCATION
Warfield's Quarry, Kemmerer, WY
FORMATION
Green River Formation
SIZE
5" fish on 6.1x3.8" shale
CATEGORY
ITEM
#122743
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