Lot 187B
North America, United States, Wyoming, Green River Formation, Eocene Epoch, ca. 53.5 to 48.5 million years ago. A striking fossilized mortality plate featuring a dynamic multi-species assemblage from the iconic Green River lake system. At the center is a large Diplomystus, with two Mioplosus, a small Knightia, and two Priscacara serrata below - together representing the rich aquatic diversity of the early Eocene. The fossil plate is skillfully prepared to highlight the anatomical details of each specimen, their dark, carbonized skeletal structures sharply contrasting the warm beige matrix. The entire slab is professionally mounted on a custom wood-panel backing for optimal display, transforming this ancient aquatic tableau into a striking visual and educational centerpiece. This grouping presents an outstanding natural record of early Eocene freshwater biodiversity and predation patterns within the subtropical lakes of prehistoric Wyoming. Size of panel: 42" L x 2" W x 24" H (106.7 cm x 5.1 cm x 61 cm) ; largest fish: 17" L x 6" W (43.2 cm x 15.2 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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#195228
- Condition: Professionally prepared. with fish inlaid into the surface. Some minor losses to stone surface layer near the upper mioplosus fish. Mounted on a wooden frame backing.
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