**First Time At Auction**

North America, Wyoming, Lower Eocene, ca. 40 million years ago; East Asia, China, Jurassic to Cretaceous, ca. 199.6 to 70 million years ago. A pair of fossilized extinct prehistoric fish imbedded in stone matrixes; the Asian Lycoptera and the North American Diplomystus. The darker matrix contains a Diplomystus fish, with the characteristic upturned mouth, typical of surface feeders- they likely fed on insects and smaller fish. The spine, dorsal fin, and anal fin are well preserved in this example! The other matrix contains 2 fossils, a partial and full Lycoptera fish which are often found in groups, suggesting they traveled in schools, and the presence of their remains are used as index fossils to determine the age of other species in the stones around them. The full and central Lycoptera is well preserved with the mouth slightly open just after the large eye socket. Size of Diplomystus matrix: 5.5" L x 3.3" W (14 cm x 8.4 cm); fossil: 2.75" L x 1.125" W (7 cm x 2.9 cm); Lycoptera matrix: 7.25" L x 4.5" W (18.4 cm x 11.4 cm); fossil: 3" L x 0.5" W (7.6 cm x 1.3 cm)

Provenance: ex-Stein collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, acquired prior to 2010

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#164161

Both are professionally prepared and excavated. Lycoptera matrix has 2 fish- one is off the edge and missing the head, other fish is intact with great preservation to bone and fins. Diplomystus fish is centered on the matrix. Details are not sharp and fully discernable, but intact, good preservation to spine.