Hulettia americana
Order Osteichthyes, Class Pholidophoriformes
Geological Time: Upper Jurassic
Size (25.4mm = 1 inch): Fish Fossil is 112 mm long tip of nose to tip of tail along backbone Matrix: 120 mm by 67 mm
Fossil Site: Todilto Formation, Guadalupe County, New Mexico, USA
Fossil Code: UKF179
Price: $195.00
 Description:
This is a member of the Order Paleonisciformes known as Hulettia
Americana. The genus derives its name from the type location of
Hulett, Wyoming. This one was previously ascribed to the Class
Pholidophoriformes which has been something of a “dustbin” taxon
in which a number of fish ranging in age from the Triassic to the
Cretaceous have been placed. Further work needs to be done to straighten
things out, but as of 2012 this one has been placed with the Paleoniscoids.
The formation is a sequence of laminations of limestone and gypsum
that was most likely fostering anoxic conditions that allowed the
preservation you see here. The specimen has been coated to prevent
spalling of fossil material. The site has been closed to further
collecting for some time so that specimens from old collections
like this one are the sole source of material. |
