minnbuckeye Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 A nice surprise happened last night as I was putting my best fish finds away from a trip to Sseth's quarry in Kemmerer, Wyoming last summer. I accidentally dropped a nice Knightia and while piking up the broken pieces, this is what was hiding inside!!! Almost didn't see I due to the tiny size. Any thoughts to species?? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemphix Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Well, i'm not an expert for Kemmerer / Green River, but i would think it's somwhat as a perch (Percoidea) judging from the Spikes on the back... Let's see what @sseth will tell.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I think this is the correct orientation; hard to tell. 1 "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 No idea on the id, but what a lovely surprise! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Cool find. This is the proper orientation, as the vertebral attachment to the skull is usually situated in the top 1/3 of the skull. This combined with the fin placements convince me of this orientation. I think with the spiked fin rays, we can conclude this is a Cockerellites liops (formerly Priscacara liops) fry. Excellent find from a heartbreaking loss. 5 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Paleontologist Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 You just beat me to identifying the proper orientation with a helpful diagram! However, I am not sure that I agree with your ID. If what I am seeing is correct, the spiny dorsal fin (A) is distinctly separated from the soft dorsal fin (B). Which would, if I am not mistaken, place it more related to perch and darters. Perhaps @Peat Burns could help? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Cowboy Paleontologist said: You just beat me to identifying the proper orientation with a helpful diagram! However, I am not sure that I agree with your ID. If what I am seeing is correct, the spiny dorsal fin (A) is distinctly separated from the soft dorsal fin (B). Which would, if I am not mistaken, place it more related to perch and darters. Perhaps @Peat Burns could help? @Nimravis may be able to help out as well. Without being able to actually count the fin rays, there could be an argument made for it being a Juvenile Mioplosus. Priscacara (Cockerellites) is a Percoid as is Mioplosus. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Percidae Genus: Priscacara Cope 1877 Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Osteichthyes Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes[2] Family: Percidae Genus: Mioplosus Here is an image where I reversed the black and whites: It is unclear, (at least, it is to me) if the "dorsal fins" are indeed separated. The leading soft rays could be missing, folded over, or depressed down. The pterygiophores are not visible to me, so no real help from those. The only thing that led me to the Priscacara id was the shortness and depth of the body. Either way, it could be labeled Percidae indet. juvenile/fry. Cool Fossil! 6 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Comparison of the two with the fish in question. The hard spikes on the anal fin are more evocative of the Priscacara spines, in my opinion. 6 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I agree with the others that Mioplosus and Cockerellites are good candidates and would lean a bit towards the latter. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Paleontologist Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 The image of the juvenile Cockerellites helps. I would probably agree that this is the most likely candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Awesome little fish. More and more I think about making a trip to one of those fish quarries. 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 Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 Thanks for all of the thoughtful info! Heck, I couldn't even tell up from down. Notice one picture is oriented the opposite of the other picture. That way, at least once the orientation was correct!! The fish is so small, I can't even tell if I could remove a bit of matrix. I should have one of our micro matrix people clean it for me!!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sseth Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 It is a Priscacara. A beautiful little example too. Glad you didn't miss this little guy. Seth 1 _____________________________________ Seth www.fossilshack.com www.americanfossil.com www.fishdig.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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