Rhynchodercetis hakelensis (Needle Fish Fossil)
Geological Time: Upper Cretaceous Senonian Series (about 75 million years old)
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch) 110 mm in length (if straightened) on 150 mm by 85 mm matrix.
Fossil Site: Lebanese Lagerstatte, Haqel, Lebanon
Fossil Code: FF004
Price: $450.00 - sold
 Description:
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. The upper and lower jaws have been extended
into a rostrum; these fish were predators of smaller fish. At 110
mm in length, this is a juvenile example, one with preservation of
fine detail. The genus went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous,
passing the way of the dinosaurs. This is the only example I have
been able to secure in four years. |
