Phareodus encaustus fish fossil
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Phareodus encaustus fish fossil
Green River Formation, Kemmerer Wyoming
Eocene Age (56 Million Years ago)
Phareodus is a genus of freshwater fish from the Eocene to the Oligocene of Australia, Europe and North America. This genus includes at least four species, P. testis (Leidy, 1873) and P. encaustus of North America, P. muelleri of Europe, and P. queenslandicus of Australia. Representatives have been found from the middle Eocene to the Oligocene of Australia, Europe and North America, including the Green River Formation in Wyoming, United States P. testis was a freshwater fish with an oval outline, a small head, and a slightly pointed snout. Its dorsal and anal fins were situated posteriorly, with the anal fin being larger. Its caudal fin was slightly forked. It had small pelvic fins but long, narrow pectoral finsPhareodus belongs to the osteoglossids, which are represented today by the Arawana. Arawana is found in tropical and semitropical fresh waters of South America, central Africa, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. Phareodus lived during the Eocene Epoch and is about 55 million years old They can be found in the fine-grained limestone layers of the River Formation. Fifty million years ago ancient Fossil Lake existed in what is now southwest Wyoming. Of its estimated maximum extent of 930 square miles, approximately 500 square miles of sediment remain. The 230 square miles across the center of the ancient lake-bed contain exceptionally fossiliferous sediments and associated geologic features including deltas, beaches, springs, and rocks from the center and near shore environments.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclass: Osteichthyes
Class: Actinopterygii
Family: Osteoglossidae
Genus: †Phareodus
Species: †encaustus
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