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Wonderfully Preserved Foot Long Extinct Gar Fish

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 900.00 USD
Wonderfully Preserved Foot Long Extinct Gar Fish
<Our item number 120550><B>Wonderfully Preserved Foot Long Extinct Gar Fish.</B> This lot contains both the positive and negative parts of a virtually complete specimen of an extinct member of the gar fish family. Araripelelidotes temnurus &#40;Lepidotes&#41;. The 100-110 million year old fish is complete except for some detailed parts of the skull and the very end of the tail fins but is one on the best preserved snd complete fish to be found from the Santana Formation, Chapada do Araripe,Ceara Province of Brazil. It is 12 x 5 inches still positioned on its limestone matrix. The thick enamel scales that covered its body are well preserved on both the positive and negative slabs. The pectoral, dorsal and tail fins are also well preserved. This is a rare fish from this formation and the preservation is extrordinary. Lepidotes had peg-like teeth and ate mollusks by crushing their shells with the peg-like teeth. 100-110 million years ago northeastern Brazil was covered by a shallow inland sea and South America h ad just started to drift apart from Africa. This fossil is missing from most fish collections.<BR><BR>Add &#36;40.00 for domestic shipping. <BR>Estimated Value &#36;800-900. <BR><BR>Our item number 120550<BR><IMAGES><P ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG SRC="http://www.goldbergcoins.net/liveauction/43jpegs/120550.jpg"> </P></IMAGES>