Natural History, including Apex the Stegosaurus
Natural History, including Apex the Stegosaurus
Multi-Fish Triptych Mural
Early Eocene (approx. 52-48 million years ago), Green River Formation, Lincoln Co., Wyoming
No reserve
Auction Closed
July 17, 03:28 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Multi-Fish Triptych Mural
Notogoneus osculus, Diplomystus dentatus, Mioplosus labracoides, Priscacara liops/Cockerellites liops, Knightia eocaena, and Heliobatis radians
Early Eocene (approx. 52-48 million years ago)
Green River Formation, Lincoln Co., Wyoming
Each panel measures 53 x 25 x 3 inches (134.6 x 63.5 x 7.62 cm), together 53 x 75 x 3 inches (134.6 x 190.5 x 7.62 cm). Three panels together weigh 255 pounds (115.7 kg).
Three separate fossil fish mosaic murals assembled on a large natural slab of tan and gray Green River limestone matrix. Largest fish (Diplomystus dentatus) measures 19½ inches (49.5 cm) in length. Stingray (Heliobatis radians) measures 18 inches (45.7 cm) in length. Each mural is backed in wood with finished beveled edges.
A FASCINATING SNAPSHOT OF UNDERWATER PREHISTORIC LIFE
50 million years ago, the Green River Formation comprised an area of more than 25,000 square miles (65,000 sq. km) of interconnected subtropical lakes spread across the current states of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Today, the region of the Green River Formation known as "Fossil Lake" boasts some of the most abundant and well-preserved freshwater fossils anywhere in the world.
Highlights of this three-panel fossil mural include Notogoneus osculus, a rare fish from the Green River Formation; the large surface feeder Diplomystus dentatus, characterized by its distinctive upturned mouth bristling with teeth; Knightia eocaena, an extinct relative of today's herring and sardine; and Heliobatis radians, an extinct species of freshwater stingray. Heliobatis had barbed stingers at the ends of their long tails, which could comprise up to half of their total body length. Their teeth were adapted to prey on other benthic and demersal zone creatures including mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish, including the Knightia eocaena specimen featured here. Also included in this fossil matrix is the temperate bass, Cockerellites liops, and the pointed-teeth, predatory percid, Mioplosus labracoides.