Leptolepis talbragarensis fish fossil
Order Leptolepiformes, Family Leptolepididae
Rissikia talbragarensis plant fossil
Geological Time: Early Middle Jurassic
Size (25.4mm=1 inch): Leptolepis: 33 mm – 49 mm long Rissikia: 15 mm - 70 mm long Matrix: 105 mm x 110 mm
Fossil Site: Purlawaugh Formation, Merrygoen Ironstone, Talbragar Fish Beds, Farrs Hill, Glugong, New South Wales, Australia
Code: AAF494
Price: Sold
 Description:
This fossil comes the most famous mass kill site in Australia, the
Talbragar Fish Beds. Like the much younger Green River Formation deposits,
large numbers of specimens that evidently died contemporaneously have
been found. The ironstone has preserved all the details of the structure
of the fish with remarkable fidelity. Plants are often preserved with
a silica coating, affording a rich white contrast to the ochre-colored
shale, making specimens such as this highly desired. The fish is Leptolepis
talbragarensis, and 2 complete and 2 partials are displayed here.
The genus already shows all the characteristics of the true bony fishes,
and may represent the early stages of the developmental route towards
herrings of the Clupeiformes, the Order to which Knightia belongs.
The plant remains are the distinctive narrow leaves of the Podocarp
Rissikia talbragarensis. The site from which this specimen came has
been closed for some time now so that only material collected in the
past is available. |
