Judging quality
The important question is preparation: an air-scribed specimen retains original bone, while a 'painted' or overlay fossil has had detail restored with pigment. Angle the plate to a raking light to see brush texture.
Fossil
Fossil Fish
Eocene lake fish from the Green River Formation — Knightia, Diplomystus, Phareodus — preserved whole with fins and scales in fine laminated limestone. Lebanese Cretaceous material is marine and older.
Care
Never wash — the limestone is porous and stains. Dust only. Display out of direct sun.
History & lore
The Green River quarries have been worked commercially since the 1890s and remain one of the few fossil beds with legal, licensed public digging.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Fossil Fish
- What is Fossil Fish?
- Eocene lake fish from the Green River Formation — Knightia, Diplomystus, Phareodus — preserved whole with fins and scales in fine laminated limestone. Lebanese Cretaceous material is marine and older.
- How hard is Fossil Fish and what is it made of?
- Fossil Fish is a Fossil-family mineral with the composition Ca5(PO4)3(OH) in limestone. It crystallizes in the — system and rates 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in brown, cream, tan.
- Where does Fossil Fish come from?
- Notable localities for Fossil Fish include Green River Formation, Wyoming, USA, Brazil (Santana Formation), Lebanon.
- How do you tell good Fossil Fish from filler?
- The important question is preparation: an air-scribed specimen retains original bone, while a 'painted' or overlay fossil has had detail restored with pigment. Angle the plate to a raking light to see brush texture.
- How do you care for Fossil Fish?
- Never wash — the limestone is porous and stains. Dust only. Display out of direct sun.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.