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LOT 3077
North American Diplomystus Fossil Fish
EOCENE PERIOD, 58-36 MILLION YEARS B.P.
7 3/4 in. (625 grams, 19.7 cm).
Rectangular matrix with a Diplomystus sp. showing good rib detail. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Green River formation, Wyoming, USA.
From a Lincolnshire, 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 Uinta, 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 period. 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 3077
North American Diplomystus Fossil Fish
Estimate £40 - 60€46 - 70 (for guidance only)$54 - 81 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
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Campo Del Cielo Meteorite Fragment
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
A nickel-iron meteorite (IAB). 7.3 grams, 22 mm
Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
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. -
Large Megalodon Extinct Giant Shark Fossil Tooth
Pliocene Epoch, circa 5.6 million years B.P.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
A 5 1/2 inch Carcharocles megalodon shark tooth, with serrations and polished light brown tooth enamel. 234 grams, 14 cm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
Carcharodon megalodon is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful marine predators in vertebrate history and likely had a profound impact on the structuring of marine communities. Fossil remains indicate that this giant shark reached a length of more than 16 metres (52 ft) and also affirm that it had a cosmopolitan distribution. Scientists suggest that in life it looked like a stockier version of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. -
Group of Three Metasequoia Fossils
Oligocene Period, circa 34-23 million years B.P.Estimate: £20 - 30 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Three irregular matrices containing dawn redwood fossils, showing twig and needle leaves. 100 grams total, 50-60 mm
From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.
