Name: Hippocampus ramulosus (Fossil Seahorse)
Age: Lower Pliocene
Size: mm (25.4mm=1 inch) 149 mm in length on 195 mm by 115 mm matrix.
Location: Marecchia River Formation, Poggio Berni, Rimimini Province, Italy
Code: FF005
Price: $795.00 - Sold
 Description:
This is a fine example of an extinct seahorse. The tubular mouth shows
that these members of the Syngnathiformes fed on small Crustaceans
and such, much as their modern-day relatives Seahorses and Pipefishes.
The genus is still extant today, living in subtropical and tropical
waters in various parts of the world. This is a large example of this
rarely-offered taxon. The incipient bulge opposite the dorsal indicates
that this was most likely a pregnant male. In the Syngnatiformes,
the males bore the burden of "childbearing". |
