Name:
Chondrichthyes; Rajiformes: Rhinobatidae: Rhinobatos hakelensis
Geological
Time: Middle Cretaceous, Middle Cenomanian Stage (93 million years
ago)
Size (25.4
mm = 1 inch): 78 mm across, 211 mm in length on a 183 mm by 265 mm matrix
Fossil
Site: Lebanese Lagerstatte, Hajoula, Lebanon
Description:
An unusual, rare example of a ray commonly called a guitarfish,
this is a wqell-preserved member known as Rhinobatos. There are
some 7 genera and 45 species of extant Rhinobatids, most of which
have similar morphology to this one. R=The degree of preservation
for a cartilaginous fish is amazing; there is NO paint commonly
seen restoring the fin rays or anything else. There are repairs
to the matrix; typically, larger specimens do not come out as easily
as the far younger Green River fish, and the material is quarried
by hand. Typically, all that remains of members of the Chondricthyes
are teeth, since they are the only real hard parts to the entire
specimen. Preservation such as this is a very rare event in the
fossil record, with this one more than 95% complete.
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