Bargain 10.4" Fossil Fish (Mioplosus) - Uncommon Species - Green River

This is a 10.4" fossil fish (Mioplosus) from the Green River Formation near Kemmerer, Wyoming. This is one of the more uncommon species from the formation, and shows bones, fin rays and scales. The preservation on this fish isn't the greatest and there are stabilized cracks running through the rock, hence the bargain price.

This specimen includes an acrylic display stand.

Mioplosus is a genus of large extinct perciform fish that lived through the Eocene epoch. This genus is easily distinguished by an elongate fusiform body, double dorsal fins, and forked tail. Mioplosus was a solitary predator with large teeth: a few fossil specimens have been collected with other, smaller fish lodged in their throats. Most fossils of this genus are from the Tertiary-aged Green River Formation in Wyoming, though relatives of this genus are known to range throughout Asia and New Zealand. Mioplosus is also believed to be related to the modern pike-perch of the genus Sander (Stizostedion).

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
LOCATION
Fossil Safari Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming
FORMATION
Green River Formation
SIZE
10.4" fish on 14.4 x 8.5" rock
CATEGORY
ITEM
#138591
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