10.7" Elegant, Fossil Fish (Phareodus) - Wyoming

Elegant, Fossil Fish (Phareodus) - Wyoming #92864

This is an elegant, 10.7" long example of one of the more uncommon fossil fish found in the Green River Formation, Phareodus. It is remarkably detailed and nicely presented on a 9.7 x 15.4" slab of shale. It was was collected from the famous "18 inch layer" of the Green River Formation which produces darker colored fossil fish.

We can back the plate and add wall mounting hardware allowing it to be easily hung on a wall for a small additional fee upon request.

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.

Dig Your Own Fossils At Fossil Lake Safari