Rare Fossil Palm Frond With Fish

Rare Fossil Palm Frond with Fish

Sabalites sp., Knightia sp. and Priscacara sp.

Eocene

Green River Formation, Wyoming

Palm measures 7 feet, 8 inches from the tip of the leaves to the base of the stem and 4 ½ feet across the frond. Trimmed and framed the complete specimen measures 8 feet, 8 inches by 5 feet, 7 ¼ inches (168.3 x 261.3 x 8.9 cm).

Fossil palm fronds epitomize the aesthetic beauty of fossils, and this uncommonly large specimen is a prime example. The Green River Formation of Wyoming is most famous for the remarkable biodiversity of fossils, mostly fish, but it’s also notable for its flora, soft material that in most other parts of the world would decompose before having a chance to be preserved in the fossil record. Palms are exceptionally scarce even here, however, as their thin leaves usually disintegrate. Prized among collectors, palms represent some of the largest fossilized leaves ever found. Adding to the appeal and complexity of the present example are three fossil fish, 2 Knightia and 1 Priscacara together on the same matrix plate. This highly decorative fossil mural has been skillfully prepared by hand and displays natural colors of warm browns contrasted by a creamy white inner layer of matrix.

PROVENANCE

Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, May 31, 1998 (lot 7215)

Private Florida collection from 1998 till the present.

Discovered and prepared by: Warfield Fossil Quarry in 1998