Fish - Prionolepis cataphractus
Cretaceous - 100 mya
Hakel-Byblos, Lebanon
ITEM# FISH-Lebanon-0001
This is a very nice pair of positive and negative plates of the alepisaur fish Prionolepis cataphractus from the Cretaceous of Lebanon. Prionolepis cataphractus belongs to the Order Alepisauriformes, Family Prionolepididae.
Prionolepis was a predatory fish with plate-armor and large jaws that died out later on in the Cretaceous. These fish are very robust and have a very solid scale pattern. Occasionally you can find them with other fish in their stomachs.
Prionolepis is betrayed as a predator by the long gape of the mouth. This genus went extinct by the Upper Cretaceous. Scale patterns are easily recognizable on this fossil as you can see from photos below.
This specimen measures approximately 5 3/4 inches long on a matrix measuring 7 7/8 inches by 3 1/4 inches.
Hakel-Byblos, Lebanon
ITEM# FISH-Lebanon-0001
This is a very nice pair of positive and negative plates of the alepisaur fish Prionolepis cataphractus from the Cretaceous of Lebanon. Prionolepis cataphractus belongs to the Order Alepisauriformes, Family Prionolepididae.
Prionolepis was a predatory fish with plate-armor and large jaws that died out later on in the Cretaceous. These fish are very robust and have a very solid scale pattern. Occasionally you can find them with other fish in their stomachs.
Prionolepis is betrayed as a predator by the long gape of the mouth. This genus went extinct by the Upper Cretaceous. Scale patterns are easily recognizable on this fossil as you can see from photos below.
This specimen measures approximately 5 3/4 inches long on a matrix measuring 7 7/8 inches by 3 1/4 inches.
$
400.00
Fish - Rhynchodercetis gracilis
Middle Cretaceous
Cenomanian Stage - 93 mya
Haqel, Lebanon
ITEM# FISH-Lebanon-0002
An exquisitely preserved example of the eelfish Rhynchodercetis gracilis from the Middle Cretaceous of Haqel, Lebanon. Rhynchodercetis gracilis is a member of the Family Dercetidae, Class Actinopterygii.
A rarely seen member of the Order Aulopiformes, Family Dercetidae, it is a member of the bony fishes known as a "needle fish" due to its body shape which comes from en-Nammoura. The en-Nammoura location is quite different in its fauna from either Hajoula or Hakel. It is thought to have been slightly younger than either of those locations. Based upon a high level of preserved terrestrial plants, it is further thought to have been closer to land, albeit islands rather than the continental coastline. Fish are far rarer at en-Nammoura, with very few recorded multiple specimens found. The upper and lower jaws have been extended into a rostrum; these fish were predators of smaller fish. The genus went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, passing the way of the dinosaurs
This specimen is approximately 3 3/16 inches long (over 6 inches if outstretchd) on a matrix measuring 3 3/4 inches by 3 7/8 inches.
Cenomanian Stage - 93 mya
Haqel, Lebanon
ITEM# FISH-Lebanon-0002
An exquisitely preserved example of the eelfish Rhynchodercetis gracilis from the Middle Cretaceous of Haqel, Lebanon. Rhynchodercetis gracilis is a member of the Family Dercetidae, Class Actinopterygii.
A rarely seen member of the Order Aulopiformes, Family Dercetidae, it is a member of the bony fishes known as a "needle fish" due to its body shape which comes from en-Nammoura. The en-Nammoura location is quite different in its fauna from either Hajoula or Hakel. It is thought to have been slightly younger than either of those locations. Based upon a high level of preserved terrestrial plants, it is further thought to have been closer to land, albeit islands rather than the continental coastline. Fish are far rarer at en-Nammoura, with very few recorded multiple specimens found. The upper and lower jaws have been extended into a rostrum; these fish were predators of smaller fish. The genus went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, passing the way of the dinosaurs
This specimen is approximately 3 3/16 inches long (over 6 inches if outstretchd) on a matrix measuring 3 3/4 inches by 3 7/8 inches.
$
800.00
Fish - Eurypholis broissieri
Middle Cretaceous
Cenomanian Stage - 95 mya
Hagel, Lebanon
ITEM# FISH-Lebanon-0003
This is a beautiful specimen of the fish Eurypholis broissieri from the Cretaceous of Lebanon. Eurypholis broissieri is a member of the Class Actinopterygii, Order Alepisauriformes.
Eurypholis boissieri, also known as the viperfish, is betrayed as a predator by its wide gape and needle sharp teeth, allowing it to easily engulf smaller prey fish. This genus went extinct by the Upper Cretaceous.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines ("rays"), as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii which also, however, possess lepidotrichia. These actinopterygian fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the link or connection between these fins and the internal skeleton (e.g., pelvic and pectoral girdles).
Today there are over 20,000 living species of actinopterygians known. The name means "ray-finned," for unlike the Chondrichthyes, the fins of the Actinopterygii are webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines. Most actinopterygians have complex skeletons of true bone (sturgeons and paddlefishes are exceptions).
Ray-finned fishes are the dominant aquatic vertebrates today, making up about half of all vertebrate species known. They are found in every aquatic habitat from the abyssal depths of the ocean to freshwater streams and ponds; a few can even crawl on land for short periods of time.
Alepisauriformes (meaning "lizard form without scales") is an order of fish, whose only living genus of this order is Alepisaurus (lancetfishes),
This specimen is approximately 7 inches long on a matrix measuring 3 3/4 inches by 8 inches.
Cenomanian Stage - 95 mya
Hagel, Lebanon
ITEM# FISH-Lebanon-0003
This is a beautiful specimen of the fish Eurypholis broissieri from the Cretaceous of Lebanon. Eurypholis broissieri is a member of the Class Actinopterygii, Order Alepisauriformes.
Eurypholis boissieri, also known as the viperfish, is betrayed as a predator by its wide gape and needle sharp teeth, allowing it to easily engulf smaller prey fish. This genus went extinct by the Upper Cretaceous.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines ("rays"), as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii which also, however, possess lepidotrichia. These actinopterygian fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the link or connection between these fins and the internal skeleton (e.g., pelvic and pectoral girdles).
Today there are over 20,000 living species of actinopterygians known. The name means "ray-finned," for unlike the Chondrichthyes, the fins of the Actinopterygii are webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines. Most actinopterygians have complex skeletons of true bone (sturgeons and paddlefishes are exceptions).
Ray-finned fishes are the dominant aquatic vertebrates today, making up about half of all vertebrate species known. They are found in every aquatic habitat from the abyssal depths of the ocean to freshwater streams and ponds; a few can even crawl on land for short periods of time.
Alepisauriformes (meaning "lizard form without scales") is an order of fish, whose only living genus of this order is Alepisaurus (lancetfishes),
This specimen is approximately 7 inches long on a matrix measuring 3 3/4 inches by 8 inches.
$
300.00
