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I thought I'd try my hand with this Kemmerer Cockerellites liops this time around. This took me a looooong time because of the fine differences in shading, but I'm pretty happy with it. As you can see when compare to the original photo, I cheated a bit on it by filling in the missing parts of the fins.

This is a Cockerellites I prepped about a month ago. I used a dremel lightly to get the top layer of matrix off, then used a regular pick for the finer preparation. For my second Cockerellites prep ever, I think I did a pretty good job. The coolest part of this piece is that there is a long piece of coprolite(?) ontop of its head. I have no clue if this would bring up the value, I kind of doubt it would though.

Finished this fish yesterday, preservation wasn’t terrible. The head Isn’t preserved well and neither is the tips of the fins but anything is better than my first prep which was on an exploded knightia. Could of turned out better but I’m satisfied with it. I have a couple questions. 1. can you tell if it is a priscacara or a cockerellites? I believe they are two different genera with different species. 2. What is the part in front of the fish’s head? It’s not bone, it’s very thin and different, I have no idea what it is. Oh and I was prepping with a not so sharp needle thing, criticism and tips are welcome

What is the proper name for Priscacara/Cockerellites fish, Priscacara or Cockerellites?

I have difficulties to find out what this small fish (1.8" or 4,5cm) from the Eocene GRF is. A baby Priscacara or Cockerellites? Or is it a Hypsiprisca hypsacantha? Or one of these so far (?) undescribed Priscacara species? The tail fin seems to be very, very slightly forked (almost round) and the Praeoperculum bears some spines. So I would guess Hypsiprisca hypsacantha, but I am not sure. Who can help? Thanks Thomas

I have been blessed this summer to have some amazing finds up in Green River. A couple of them come in the form of strange pathologies on a common fish. The Priscacara (or Cockerellites as it is now known) Is quite a common fish to find in multiple layers of the Green River Formation. The Cockerellites is closely related to modern perch, and is a highly prized fish due to it's unique appearance! I know there was a paper recently written (I believe in 2010) by John Whitlock, but I cannot seem to find it on any open access sites. Part of his debate for a new genus is fueled by the fact that serrata and liops have differing numbers of dorsal and anal spines. I present to you today 2 of my more uncommon finds from Green River showing variations of these animals. 99%+ of the Cockerellites found have just 10 dorsal spines, I present today my 2 unique finds from this past dig season! Fish number 1 was discovered on July 29, 2017 Fish number 2 was discovered on September 23, 2017 The first picture shows a Cockerellites liops with 11 dorsal spines. this second photos shows an even more perplexing mutation. This Cockerellites liops has 12 dorsal spines!! While multiple fish have been found with 11 dorsal spines, I am unsure if anyone has ever found a fish with 12 dorsal spines. This is a very unique occurrence and should this fish be a new variant it will be donated to Fossil Butte National Monument! Even though he is missing most of his anal fins, this fish could still be a very important specimen to show mutations. So, do you think these 2 fish could represent new species within the Genus? Or are they simply mutations?

I just had to show this one off! I saved the Notogoneous from a terrible fate of never being prepped! My buddy thought he was missing part of his head after he roughed it out so he set it aside. Notogoneous is my favourite fish so I took a gamble and had it prepped out, to my surprise it was all there with a wide open mouth! Notogoneous: 24 1/8 inches (61.28cm) Diplomystus: 15 inches (38.10cm) Knightia: 7 inches (17.78cm) Cockerellites (Priscacara): 5 3/4 inches (14.60cm) Entire panel measures 63 1/2 inches (156.21cm) wide by 22 inches (55.88cm) tall.