Ancient Seas, Near East, Lebanon, Cretaceous Period, ca. 145.5 to 65.5 million years ago. This is an awesome fossil from a species of Rhinobatos rays, fittingly known as guitar fish because of their unusual body - elongated with a flattened head with a flared triangular shape. The fossil is inlaid into the center of a matrix taken from the same formation with over a dozen minnow like fish also preserved in the surface! Prehistoric guitar fish, like their modern-day relatives, have cartilage rather than bones - their fossilization is less common due to the speed of cartilage decomposition. This is a nice example of preservation to finer details including parts of the spine and delicate fins. The stone is meticulously prepared as a stunning display piece! Size: 11" L x 1" W x 22" H (27.9 cm x 2.5 cm x 55.9 cm); 23.5" H (59.7 cm) on included custom stand.
Provenance: private Berthoud, Colorado, USA collection
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#172555
Condition
Professionally prepared and repaired. Matrix repaired from several pieces, with infill along break lines. Break lines extend across tail and body of ray fossil, and restoration and infill to these areas. Ray is inlaid into the matrix.