Rare Three Rhadinichthys Paleozoic Fish Fossils Mass Mortality
"Fine Soft Tissure Preservation"

Description: This offering is of three Rhadinichthys in a pleasing aesthetic association. This plate is from the rarer brown layer, which imbues the specimens with a more dramatic contrast. Note the wonderful soft tissue preservation of scales and fins in the close-up photo. The fish are contorted, on their sides, with the ventral side of the heads showing. This is one of the two museum grade plates from the batch I purchased.

The fish are small and slender, with spindle shaped bodies, with an elongate head and blunt snout. Scales are square to rectangular and arranged in diagonal rows. (see Baensch’s classic treatise on fossil fish, FOSSIL FISH ATLAS, page 263 for more details.)

According to the collectors, only three individuals have quarried these fish. Two of them are paleontologists. They are very rarely offered to collectors. I was very lucky to obtain a small batch of prepared specimens.

These Carboniferous (Mississippian age) palaeoniscid fish are from the Albert Shales of New Brunswick. They come from old coal mining operations that are now shut down. The fish come from fresh water deposits and occur in shales near the coal seams. They have been meticulously prepped with an air abrasive unit using soft grit and very low pressure. This ensures the preservation of intricate details of the scales and other body structures.

This fragile plate will be shipped in an attractive 8.5" x 12.5” Riker glass covered mount.