10.3" Fossil Fish (Phareodus) - Beautiful Specimen

This is a elegant, 10.3" long example of one of the more uncommon fossil fish found in the Green River Formation. It is a Phareodus from the Lindgren Quarry near Kemmerer Wyoming. You can even see a row of tiny teeth in its mouth. It's nicely centered on a rectangularly cut slab of shale.

This specimen includes an acrylic display stand.

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.

50 million years ago, in the Eocene, 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.
A view of one of the commercial quarries where fossils from the Green River Formation are collected.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Phareodus
LOCATION
Lindgren Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation
SIZE
10.3" long on 14.5 x 9.3" rock
CATEGORY
ITEM
#163420
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