Lot 125
North America, Wyoming, Green River Formation, Eocene Period, ca. 53.5 to 48.5 million years ago. A stone matrix panel containing three fossilized fish, that are prehistoric species known as Mioplosus and Diplomystus. The 2 larger fish are Mioplosus, related to modern day perch, with sharp teeth for catching smaller fish. The smallest fish is a Diplomystus, also a predatory genus with an upturned mouth, typical of surface feeders that eat insects and smaller fish. These fish were extracted from the famous fossil-bearing "split fish layer," where the sediment is highly laminated, and the 2 slightly recessed fish were probably inlaid. The stone is meticulously prepared with a wood panel backing as an amazing display piece. Size: 22.5" L x 1" W x 16" H (57.2 cm x 2.5 cm x 40.6 cm)
The sediment from the Green River Formation was deposited over a 5-million-year span, the layers of flora and fauna may not have fossilized at the same time - but make for interesting composites. The Eocene world was the warmest of the Cenozoic (our current era), with an average mean temperature around 86 F (30 C) (for comparison, the average mean temperature in the last seventy years is around 58 F (14 C). Although the map of the Earth's surface would have been very recognizable to us today, with most of the continents in place and India moving close to its current position, there were basically no ice caps and huge swaths of the landscape were covered with water, including vast inland seas. This impressive aquarium like arrangement creates a rare scene from a prehistoric environment that was drastically different than what the semi-arid Wyoming landscape of today!
Provenance: Private Berthoud, Colorado, USA collection
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#183204
- Condition: Professionally prepared with 2 fish inlaid into the surface. Mounted on a wooden board backing.
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