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76" Museum Quality Fossil Fish Mortality Plate - Ready to Hang
Note: Because of its size and weight, this piece will ship via freight on a pallet or in a crate. Our website can’t automatically calculate freight charges, so shipping costs will be determined and billed after purchase. If you’d like a quote beforehand, please contact us prior to ordering.
This is a fantastic 76 × 37" fossil fish mortality plate from the Green River Formation of Wyoming, collected from the famed “Gastropod Layer” at the Clear Creek Quarry near Kemmerer. The slab features 31 beautifully preserved, jet-black fish fossils, ranging from 2.4" to 6.9" in length. Importantly, this is a completely natural assemblage. None of the fish have been moved, inlaid, or added. Plates of this size with an untouched association are increasingly rare, offering a remarkable snapshot of life in Fossil Lake approximately 51 million years ago.
The species on this plate include nine Diplomystus dentatus fish ranging from 2.4" to 6.9" long, 22 of the species Knightia eocaena that range from 3.7" to 5.25" long, and one juvenile Mioplosus labracoides measuring 4.9" long. The mural has been professionally backed with moisture-resistant wood and fitted with a wall hanger, making it ready for horizontal display right out of the crate.
Note: If you'd prefer the plate to be prepared for vertical presentation, please include that request in the instructions or contact support@fossilera.com, as it will require additional materials.
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.
Our Fossil Lake Safari Quarry just outside Kemmerer, Wyoming.
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.
Our Fossil Lake Safari Quarry just outside Kemmerer, Wyoming.
$12,500
SPECIES
Knightia eocaena, Diplomystus dentatus & Mioplosus labracoides
LOCATION
Clear Creek Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation, "Gastropod Layer"
SIZE
Rock: 76 x 37", Fish Size Range: 2.4" to 6.9" long
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#370784
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