26" Framed Fossil Fish Plate (Diplomystus & Knightia) - Wyoming

This is two fossil fish from the famous 18-inch layer of the Green River Formation, near Kemmerer, Wyoming. This amazing specimen is an incredibly well preserved 15.3" Diplomystus and an equally well preserved Knightia. They are both in a slab of shale that has been framed foe easy hanging and display.

Specimens like this come from the coveted 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation, which produces darker and more detailed fish than the majority on the market. The rock from this layer is much harder and more durable than other layers in the formation, likely due to its initial deposition conditions in deep water. Because of these conditions, fish found in the 18-inch layer can be extracted whole and in excellent condition. This layer is typically collected at night using low-angle light to see the bump in the rock that the fish's backbone creates. They then cut these fish out and take them to a lab where the fish, which may be up to an inch under the surface of the rock, are meticulously extracted under microscope with hand tools.

A view of the 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation at the Lindgren quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
A view of the 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation at the Lindgren quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming.

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Diplomystus dentatus, Knightia eocaena
LOCATION
Kemmerer, WY
FORMATION
Green River Formation
SIZE
15.3" diplomystus, 5.4" knightia, 25.6 x 21.7" in frame
CATEGORY
ITEM
#122639
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