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LOT 2999
Fossil Ichthyosaur Skeleton
TRIASSIC PERIOD, CIRCA 246-237 MILLION YEARS B.P.
25 3/8 in. (10 kg, 64.5 cm).
Ichthyosaur from the Mixosaurus genus, with several small teeth visible in the mouth, large eye sockets, many of the spinous processes present on the spine, and a large number of the flipper bones present on both the fore and hind paddles.
ProvenanceFrom the Guanling Biota formation, China.
Previously with Shishang Corporation, Taiwan.
From a West London gentleman collector; acquired from a professional fossil company in Taiwan.
Originally, ichthyosaur fossils were misidentified as ‘Saurian ’-being either lizards or forms of crocodile. The term 'Ichthyosaur' was first used in 1817 by the German naturalist Karl Dietrich Eberhard Konig, and he did not publish the name until 1825. By the 1830s, the name Ichthyosaur was widely used. Mixosaurus is considered to be a transitional genus that was smaller in size than the later dolphin-like Ichthyosaurs.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 2999
Fossil Ichthyosaur Skeleton
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000€5,800 - 8,120 (for guidance only)$6,750 - 9,450 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£1,000 (EUR 1,160; USD 1,350) +BP*
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Spinosaurus Dinosaur Fossil Tooth
Cretaceous Period, circa 125-113 million years B.P.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Conical tooth with light brown enamel. 9.14 grams, 48 mm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
The Spinosaurus was both a beachcomber-type scavenger and an active hunter, taking small stranded Plesiosaurs, Pterosaurs, turtles and large fish; adults weighed up to 21 tonnes and grew up to 18 meters long. -
Campo Del Cielo Iron Meteorite
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising an irregular specimen of iron (IAB) meteorite. 1.47 grams, 12 mm
From Chaco Province, Argentina, the fall was discovered in 1576. Previously in a private collection formed in the 2000s. Acquired at auction in the UK. Property of a West Sussex, UK, gentleman.
A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8 ton Gancedo and 28.8 ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed the local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal which was assumed to be an iron mine and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774 Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 1990, it became protected by law. -
Grape Agate Mineral Display Specimen
Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Tight clusters of botryoidal variety of dark purple to light purple amethyst on a host rock. 765 grams, 15.5 cm
From Sulawesi, Indonesia. Property of a Bristol, UK, gentleman collector.
