This is a very detailed fossil fish (Phareodus), that was self-collected in May of 2018. Pahreodus is one of the more uncommon species from the Green River Formation. It was collected from a quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming. Excellent preservation and preparation. There is a repaired crack running through the center of the rock and the fish with some gap fill restoration along the crack. The pieces has been backed for stability and it comes with a display stand.Phareodus had a mouthful of sharp pointy teeth making it a voracious lake predator. In fact the name Phareodus actually means "to have tooth". Spines from other fish such as Mioplosus and Priscacara have frequently been found preserved in their stomachs.
50 million years ago, in the Eocene these fish thrived in Fossil Lake fed by Uinta and Rocky Mtn. 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 in 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.
