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Thought I would share this here as well as in Blake's post.  You can stop by the Coliseum show in Denver and see it in person at (FossildudeCo ) Blake's booth. @FossilDudeCO

 

Icaronycteris Index, found at our American Fossil quarry in August, 2017!

 

Icaronycteris Index is one of the oldest bat species on the planet. It lived some 51 million years ago in the Eocene epoch in Wyoming. Icaronycteris was a primitive bat, emerging very early in the age of mammals. Modern bats have only a single claw on their first digit, but Icaronycteris also had another one on the second digit. Icaronycteris also lacked a uropatagium, the flap of skin in between the legs of modern bats that also includes the tail. It has a long tail, a carryover in its evolution from a land dwelling mammal. Icaronycteris also had a less rigid skeletal structure. Finally even though Icaronycteris was an insectivore, it had a full set of teeth that were relatively unspecialized beyond the basic mammalian form. Later bats would develop more specialized teeth that were also fewer in number than Icaronycteris had.

 

It was discovered in our quarry in August 2017 and has been prepped to perfection under the microscope. It has a great deal of soft tissue preservation including muscle and membrane on the right wing, tendons, and even cartilage connecting the sternum to the ribs. It is an amazing specimen, right down to the claws on its feet.

 

Enjoy

 

Seth

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_____________________________________
Seth

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2 hours ago, sseth said:

It was discovered in our quarry in August 2017 and has been prepped to perfection under the microscope.

Seth

Now that is quite incredible Seth !

I am curious as to what this looked like initially, the moment it was seen as pulled from the strata/matrix. How much and what part of it was exposed and visible. Sometimes there is just a hint, other times the matrix splits just right.

Any early pics prior to the prep process ?

Again, very nice !

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I join the chorus, Just unbelievable!   Thanks for sharing.  Jack

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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After seeing the stupendous bat yesterday, I went downstairs and split, resplit, and re-resplit my left over matrix that I have been cleaning off of my collection from your quarry. Did NOT find a bat unfortunately!! Did find one half of a Knightia. For everyone thinking of a visit to Wyoming, definitely stop in at Seth's quarry. His quarry is the only one in the area that would let you keep a find like this. It indicates the variety of fossils that exist in the Green River Formation, it is not just a place to find Knightia!!!

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WOW. Excellent, thanks Seth.

You were very fortunate that it split out the way it did.

It just makes me wonder how many, maybe the majority, of specimens get by us by being just out of view when splitting the material.

I guess one will never know.

Great post !

Thanks again.

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Thanks, sseth.  Is that a chisel mark scraping across the skull and wrists?  Excellent specimen by the way.  Almost makes me want to come to denver to see it.  BUt heck, I have too much to do up here. 

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Wow! That is GDB worthy (Golden Drool Bucket)--not to be confused with the cooking term GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious) though there is plenty of drool involved in both. :drool:

 

Hoping Irma doesn't cause me to have to reschedule my visit out west in a week as I'd love to see this little guy in person.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Hey sseth,

can you supply some dimensions to this creature ?

Just wondering how big it is.

(did not see any reference to size, sorry if I missed/overlooked it)

From wiki: Icaronycteris measured about 14 centimetres (5.5 in) long and had a wingspan of 37 centimetres (15 in).

Thanks,

:)

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That is an amazing specimen. WoW!

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

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