RARE Fossil Fish Catfish Astephus w/ 3 Juveniles Green River Fm. Wyoming WY COA

Description

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this order.
Here is a rare fossil adult catfish, Astephus Antiquus, from the Laney Member, Sweetwater County, Green River Formation, Wyoming. From the Eocene, about 50 million years ago.
Here you have a very interesting specimen of an extremely rare and no-longer-available fossil fish. The area where these were found long ago, is now off-limits to collectors.  A must for the person with an advanced collection of Green River Formation fossils!
Do you see the 3 juvenile fossils also on this same plate (one is a partial)? A huge cool addition to the specimen!
Juvenile #1 (photos 6 and 7) is clear to identify as a catfish, as multiple barbels are visible just below the head. And then, there is of course, the distinctive catfish body and tail. I suggest at least a 5x loupe, to clearly see the detail.
Juvenile #2 (photos 8-11) shows at least one barbel by the head (photo 11), and it has the distinctive catfish body and tail.
Juvenile #3 (photo 12) is the head, and barbels, and part of the upper body only.
The adult fossil catfish, an Astephus Antiquus, is about 15.1 cm. in length (5.94"). Bear in mind that the matrix stone in the Laney Member is most often extremely hard and cracks easily. This is no exception. You can see an expertly repaired crack on the back side in the head area, that is much harder to see on the front.  The plate is an irregular-shaped object about 10" by 5", and it weighs 1 lb. 11.15 oz. (769 grams).
The adult head looks quite good. Photo 5 shows some very sharp teeth! If you don't see them right off, keep looking. They are worth the look!  One barbel on the left side, just posterior to the head, is easy to see, along with possibly a part of another barbel. The mid-section is good, with the exception of a wide chisel mark that took many of the front ribs on the right. The ribs on the left look great, and the vertebrae are strong the entire length of the fish. The caudal fin has more matrix removed by chisel in the center and on the right. The left part of the caudal fin (tail fin) is strong, even showing the branching out of its rays.
COMBINED SHIPPING: We will do our best to combine purchases to save shipping costs. In some cases, that is easy, in some cases not so much. If you buy multiple pieces, and pay for them, we will combine if we can, and refund the shipping difference into your Pay pal account.
We will ship this only to the United States.  We are not responsible if the buyer reships it somewhere else, after receiving it from us. Our responsibility ends at the destination we ship it to.
Return Policy:   If you are not satisfied with your item, please contact us within 72 hours of receiving the item.  We'll refund your purchase price, minus shipping charges, upon safe return of the item in original condition within 30 days of buyer’s receipt of item. Failure to contact us within 72 hours of receipt of item, voids this offer. Buyer is responsible for all return shipping charges.   Item must arrive to us in same condition as buyer received it (check photos in original description), or a restocking fee may be charged.
Damage:   If your item arrives damaged, please contact us within 24 hours of receiving as we will be happy to resolve any issue.  Buyer must contact us within 24 hours of receipt of item to claim damage in shipping.
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