Sale NH0903 Lot 206

UNUSUAL FOSSIL FISH GROUPING
Diplomystus dentatus, Knightia eocaena
Eocene
Warfield Quarry, Green River Formation, Lincoln Co., Wyoming, USA
As in any eco-system, there was a strict hierarchy to the food chain in the system of freshwater lakes that covered the south-west corner of present-day Wyoming 50 million years ago. The ferocious diplomystus, growing to 26 inches in length, prowled the waters with little fear of danger, preying on the abundance of smaller fish, in particular the sprat-like knightia. But here the situation appears reversed: two diminutive diplomystus cower in one corner, the larger measuring only 5 1/4 inches long, whilst having into view across the pale gray rock is a comparatively large knightia, at 6 1/2 inches. The lovely deep brown of the fossils provides a pleasing contrast to the natural matrix, framed in wenge and ready to hang; it measures approximately 21 x 33 inches overall and comes with a Green River certificate.
Estimate $1,200-1,400