Reviews
This Specimen has been sold.
HERE ARE SOME OTHER SIMILAR FOSSILS FOR SALE
Huge, 20.7" Fossil Fish (Phareodus) - Exceptional Specimen!
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 enormous and darkly preserved, 20.7" long Phareodus fish from the famous 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation in Wyoming. It's nicely centered on a 37 x 26.9" slab of shale and the preservation is dark and detailed. This specimen has been backed with wood and upon request, can have a french cleat style wall hanger installed at no additional charge.
There is a crack that runs across this rock and through the fish. This crack required repair and restoration where portions of the fish chipped away.
About Phareodus
Phareodus is a genus of predatory freshwater fish found in the famous Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation in Wyoming. It had a mouthful of sharp pointy teeth, making it a voracious lake predator. In fact, the name Phareodus actually means "to have teeth". Spines from other fish such as Mioplosus and Priscacara have frequently been found preserved in their stomachs.
Phareodus is a genus of predatory freshwater fish found in the famous Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation in Wyoming. It had a mouthful of sharp pointy teeth, making it a voracious lake predator. In fact, the name Phareodus actually means "to have teeth". Spines from other fish such as Mioplosus and Priscacara have frequently been found preserved in their stomachs.
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
Phareodus testis
LOCATION
Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation, 18 Inch Layer
SIZE
20.7" fish on 37 x 26.9" shale
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#144007
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our specimens.
