0.5 Detailed Fossil March Fly Insect Green River FM Uintah County UT Eocene Age
Location: Uintah County, Utah
Weight: 1.4 Ounces
Dimensions: 2.1 Inches Long, 2 Inches Wide, 0.4 Inches Thick (Plate)
Insect Dimensions: 0.5 Inches Long, 0.5 Inches Wide
The item pictured is the one you will receive.
50 million years old, Eocene age
March Fly Insect
Around 50 million years ago, Fossil Lake existed in what is now southwest Wyoming. At its peak, the lake covered an estimated 930 square miles, though roughly 500 square miles of sediment remain today. The central 230 square miles of the ancient lake bed are exceptionally rich in fossils and reveal a variety of geological features, including deltas, beaches, springs, and rocks from both nearshore and deeper environments.
The lake’s unique chemistry slowed decay and prevented scavenging, allowing millimeter-thick layers of laminated limestone to form over time. These layers preserve the highest concentration of fossil fish in the world. Together with other aquatic life and geological formations, Fossil Lake provides the most complete Paleogene record of a freshwater ecosystem.
Since their discovery in the 1870s, countless perfectly preserved fossil fish have been uncovered. Beyond fish, the lake holds an entire aquatic community, including cyanobacteria, plants, insects, crustaceans (such as shrimp, crawfish, and ostracods), amphibians (frogs and primitive salamanders), alligators, turtles, birds, and mammals like the oldest known pantolestid, an otter-like creature.
The surrounding subtropical terrestrial ecosystem is also represented, with fossils of horses, snakes, lizards, bats, birds, apatemyids (arboreal insectivores), miacids (primitive carnivores), insects, and more than 325 types of leaves, seeds, and flowers. Fossil Lake offers an unparalleled glimpse into an ancient world, capturing both aquatic and terrestrial life in remarkable detail.
