Natural History - Fossil Icthyosaur 'Marine Dinosaur' Vertebra

With small slender crystals on a matrix. 46.3 grams, 62 mm



Collected in person from various parts of the world mainly between 1957-1966. From the private mineral collection of Stephen Atkinson, Harpenden, UK. Accompanied by a copy of a letter from the vendor giving details of him collecting these minerals throughout his life.

Diplomystus sp. specimen on a rectangular matrix. 307 grams, 17 cm



From Wyoming (Green River Formation), USA. From an old Bristol, UK, collection.

In southwest Wyoming (and parts of Colorado and Utah) in the Green River Formation are found some of the world's most outstanding specimens of fossil fish. The Green River system was composed of three lakes: Lake Ulinta, Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake. These Eocene lakes lay in a series of intermountain basins formed by geological events that uplifted the Rocky Mountains during the early Tertiary time. The climate was much different from the desert-like climate of this area today. Both the fauna (crocodiles, alligators, boa constrictors and some subtropical fish families) and the flora (such as large palm trees) indicate a climate much like that found along the Gulf Coast today. Large amounts of ash found in the sediments indicate that volcanoes were particularly active at this time.

Comprising two freestanding Sporadoceras sp., polished through the shell to reveal the calcite preserved inside and show the dividing gas chambers known as suture patterns where the chambers meet the surface giving a zig-zag pattern. 433 grams total, 83-88 mm



From the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Acquired 1950s-1960s. From an old Bristol, UK, palaeontological collection.