FINE FOSSIL STINGRAY. ...

Description

FINE FOSSIL STINGRAY
Heliobatus radians
Eocene
Green River Formation, Wyoming
Fossil stingrays are quite rare due to the fact that they are a cartilaginous fish, a characteristic highly antipathetic to fossilization, and although the strata of the "18-inch layer" of the Fossil Lake make it relatively easy to remove the abundant fossils found there, the "wing" bones of the ray present one of the greatest challenges to the excavator, having the thickness of only two sheets of paper. The preparator's skill is likewise keenly tested in its presentation, and the fine detail of the present example is testament to a master of this most painstaking art. The wingspan here is 6 inches, and it measures 12½ inches from tip to tail. As an added bonus, swimming perilously close to the dangerous stinger is one of the abundant Knightia sp., an ancestor of the modern herring, measuring 3¾ inches long. Both are presented on a natural limestone matrix plate measuring 16 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches overall.

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