Gasterostueus doryssus Fish Fossils from Nevada

Description: This plate was an exceptional find. The matrix is quite fragile and does not ordinarily lend itself to the preservation of large plates like this. The fish run in small bedding mortality horizons of a few centimeters. This one has five complete and two partials. Another deathbed lies tantalizingly a few centimeters below this one! There are two different species of Pliocene fish (3 m.y.o.) (the other being Fundulus nevadensis) from the diatomaceous earth quarries surrounding Hazen and Fernley, Nevada. An interesting note concerning these fish species is that they are never found associated in the geological sequence of layers. Moreover, they are to the exception of an occasional bird feather or leaf (and a snake we donated to a museum in Utah), virtually the only fossils found at the quarries.