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LOT 1919
Natural History - Knightia Fossil Fish
EOCENE PERIOD, 56-33 MILLION YEARS B.P.
5 x 4 3/8 in. (336 grams, 12.6 x 11 cm).
A pair of Knightia alta fossil fish in a matrix. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Wyoming, Green River Formation, U.S.A.
Acquired during the 1980s.
From the Pradi Collection, Boston, U.S.A.
Seasonally, some 56 million years ago, in the Green River Region of Wyoming, torrential rains fell on the mountains. The rain flowed down the
mountain sides, forming wide shallow lakes in the valley below. During the dry season, these lakes evaporated (similar to certain parts of Africa today). Millions of fish died in this short period of time. This climatic cycle happened over a 20-thousand-year period. Layer upon layer of mud was deposited over these years, entombing huge numbers of fish. At a much later date volcanic activity uplifted this area to expose their fossils.
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AUCTIONS:
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Natural History - Cut and Polished Fossil Cleoniceras Ammonite
Jurassic Period, 199-145 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
A pair of cut and polished fossil ammonite halves, each displaying the gas chambers; possibly Cleoniceras sp. 237 grams total, 90-92 mm
From Madagascar. Collected between 1930 and 1960. From the collection of the palaeontologist R Gledhill. -
Natural History - Large Historic Citrine Crystal Specimen
Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
A substantial section of a natural geode with richly coloured citrine crystals to the inner face. 2.69 kg, 16 cm
Essex gallery, early 2000s. -
Natural History - Campo del Cielo Meteorite Group
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A group of two Campo del Cielo nickel iron (IAB) meteorites; each held in a plastic display case with identification label. 18.8 grams total, case 40 x 34 mm each
From Chaco Province, Argentina, found 1576. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.
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 natives’ 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.
