3.5" Diplomystus Dentatus Fossil Fish Green River FM WY Eocene Age COA, Stand

Location: Kemmerer, Wyoming

Weight: 12.7 Ounces

Dimensions: 5.9 Inches Long, 4.2 Inches Wide, 0.4 Inches Thick (Plate)

Fish Dimensions: 3.5 Inches Long, 1.2 Inches Wide

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Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

56 million years old, Eocene age.

The morphology of Diplomystus Dentatus, characterized by its upturned mouth, aligns with that of a surface-feeding fish. This genus, related to herrings, likely preyed on small surface-dwelling fish such as Knightia, with numerous fossils showing specimens preserved with Knightia in their stomachs or mouths. Approximately fifty million years ago, Fossil Lake occupied what is now southwestern Wyoming. While its maximum area reached around 930 square miles, about 500 square miles of sedimentary deposits remain today. The central 230 square miles of this ancient lakebed exhibit exceptionally fossiliferous sediments alongside geologic features like deltas, beaches, springs, and varied depositional environments. The distinctive geochemical conditions of Fossil Lake inhibited decomposition and scavenging, allowing for the gradual accumulation of millimeter-thick laminated limestone layers. These deposits preserve an unparalleled concentration of fossil fish, making Fossil Lake the foremost Paleogene freshwater ecosystem record globally.

Since the discovery in the 1870s, many perfectly preserved fossil fish have been recovered. Preserved with the fish in the laminated limestone is a complete aquatic ecosystem: cyanobacteria, plants, insects, crustaceans (shrimp, crawfish, and ostracods), amphibians (frog and primitive salamander), alligators, turtles, birds, and mammals, including the oldest pantolestid (otter-like animal). The subtropical terrestrial ecosystem surrounding the lake is also represented by rare fossils, including a horse, two snakes, lizards, two bat species, birds, an apatemyid (an arboreal insectivore), a minced (a primitive carnivore), insects, and more than 325 types of leaves, seeds, and flowers.

Please be aware of the nature of fossils:

Being buried under the ground for millions of years under tons of pressure tends to be rough. No fossil comes out of the ground whole and perfect. Most fossils have undergone some restoration, while others are altered by man, simply to enhance their presentation in different ways. These are part of the natural beauty of the fossil and are not considered defects.