Fish - Fossilised animal - Lycoptera - 11 cm (No reserve price)

Fossil fish – Lycoptera sp. – 11 cm
This specimen features a complete and well-articulated skeleton of Lycoptera, a primitive bony fish belonging to the order Osteoglossiformes, that lived during the Early Cretaceous (about 120–130 million years ago).
Lycoptera fossils typically come from lake deposits of the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations, in Liaoning Province (northeastern China), renowned worldwide for the exceptional preservation of its fossils, often found in fine-grained volcanic ash layers that have preserved the minuscule anatomical details.
On the calcareous/schistose matrix slab one clearly observes the vertebral column, the ribs, the skull structure and the fins, with the brown-reddish coloration typical of the iron mineralization that replaced the original organic tissues.
Lycoptera is considered an “index” fish for dating the Liaoning deposits, being extremely abundant and widespread in these lacustrine ecosystems of the era of feathered dinosaurs.

Includes: display case, ready for tabletop or shelf display.