Heliobatis radians (male)

          This specimen has a funny story behind it. The post office mishandled the package so this guy came out of the box broken. Thankfully the very helpful folks here at TFF were able to help me piece him back together.  

          Ok now on to the specimen itself. This is a Heliobatis radians from the Green River Formation: Wyoming, USA. The diameter of the two pectoral fins is 8.5 inches which is fairly big for this species. And the presence of claspers on the pelvic fins make this stingray a male. All of these observations form the conclusion that this is an adult male Heliobatis.

          The preservation of this stingray is fantastic. A huge majority of the small bones that make up the pectoral fins are preserved. Under magnification one can see the cell structure of the cartilage. Also, the very best part: there is absolutely no restoration! The only work done to this fossil was gluing it back together with cyanoacrylate (super glue). Unfortunately the tail is missing, but that does not detract from this awesome Heliobatis radians. 

        I will post some close up pictures once I get one of those camera loupes you attach to your cell phone camera.