LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 January Signature Natural History #5000  / 

48375

FINE FOSSIL STINGRAY

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,400.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD
FINE FOSSIL STINGRAY
<B>FINE FOSSIL STINGRAY</B></I><BR> <I>Heliobatus radians<BR>Eocene<BR>Green River Formation, Wyoming</B></I><BR>Many of the aquatic animals that lived in the Fossil Lake of the Green River formation were descendants of marine species cut off from the oceans as the North American continents rose slowly from the primordial waters that covered much of the globe. This is the reason why the traditionally ocean-dwelling sting-ray was to be found in these fresh waters. Like their modern-day descendants, they were placid bottom dwellers, the fearsome tail barbs providing an excellent deterrent to predators that might otherwise have enjoyed them as a tasty dinner. As might be expected, the remains of these thin, delicate flat fish are rare. They are a cartilaginous fish, a characteristic highly antipathetic to fossilization, and although the strata of the "18-inch layer" of the Fossil Lake make it relatively easy to remove the abundant fossils found there, the "wing" bones of the ray present one of the greatest challenges to the excavator, having the thickness of only two sheets of paper. The preparator's skill is likewise keenly tested in its presentation, and the fine detail of the present example is testament to a master of this most painstaking art. The wingspan here is 6 inches, and it measures 12½ inches from tip to tail. As an added bonus, swimming perilously close to the dangerous stinger is one of the abundant <I>Knightia sp</B></I>., an ancestor of the modern herring, measuring 3¾ inches long. Both are presented on a natural limestone matrix plate measuring 16? x 13? inches overall.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Requires 3rd Party Shipping (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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