Positive/Negative Pair of a Partial Fossil Fish Aspiration | Mioplosus labracoides | Wyoming
Original price
$1,500.00
-
Original price
$1,500.00
Original price
$1,500.00
$1,500.00
-
$1,500.00
Current price
$1,500.00
Mioplosus labracoides
Eocene (51.98 Million Years Ago)
Green River Formation, Wyoming, USA
In Stone Fossils Private Quarry
Specimen approx. size: 4"
Positive plate approx. size: 7.5" x 6.5"
Negative plate approx. size: 7" x 9"
Known as an aspiration, this fossil captures a partial Mioplosus that died trying to swallow its prey whole. The prey fish was too large for the Mioplosus to swallow, and it literally choked to death on it. The tail of the prey fish can be seen sticking out of the Mioplosus' mouth.
Order Perciformes
- Family Latidae - M. labracoides
- are characterized by 2 dorsal fins and a moderately forked, fan-shaped tail fin
- had a long, torpedo-shaped body with streamlined proportions for fast swimming
- known to reach 20 inches
- juveniles commonly found in mass mortalities and adults found alone, indicating M. labracoides traveled in schools as a juvenile and became solitary as an adult
- juvenile and adult specimens often found preserved with smaller fish in the jaw or stomach
Mioplosus labracoides was likely an apex or mesopredator in the Fossil Lake ecosystem, preying on smaller fish species such as Knightia and Diplomystus. Unlike more gregarious species, fossil occurrences of Mioplosus are typically isolated rather than in mass mortality layers, suggesting a more solitary lifestyle.