39" Wide Green River Fossil Fish "Mural" - Authentic Fossils

This is a spectacular fossil fish "mural" from the Green River Formation of Wyoming. It measures 39 x 22.3" and features three different types of fish fossils. The largest specimen on the slab us a 17.2" Diplomystus dentatus. There is also an uncommon Mioplosus and a Knightia eocaena.

Both the Mioplosus and the Knightia have been inlaid into the rock while the Diplomystus was originally found on the slab. Other than the inlaying the fish have not been restored or painted. The large slab of rock has been backed with wood for stability is ready to be hung on a wall.

Fossil fish from the 18 inch layer split out "ghosted" underneath the surface of the rock. Typically only bumps from the back bone can be seen in faint relief against the surface of the rock. Because of this they typically collect this layer at night using high powered lighting which allow them to better see the shadows from these bumps on the rock. These fish must then be prepared removing all of the matrix from on top of them, a very meticulous and time consuming process.

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
Mioplosus labracoides, Diplomystus dentatus & Knightia eocaena
LOCATION
Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation
SIZE
39 x 22.3", largest fish 17.2", about 50 lbs
CATEGORY
ITEM
#104585
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