Lot 27
FOSSIL PALM FROND WITH FISH
GREEN RIVER FORMATION, WYOMING, EARLY EOCINE, 50 MILLION YEARS B.P.
Auction: 28 May 2026 from 13:00 BST
Description
a large and impressive fossil limestone panel preserving a near complete palm frond (Sabalites sp.), with finely articulated leaflets, alongside four fish, comprising two Knightia eocaena and two Diplomystus dentatus, each laterally preserved with clear skeletal definition, the dark fossil material set in striking contrast against the fine grained limestone matrix
Dimensions
152 × 92 cm
Provenance
Formerly on display at The Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, Florida
Footnote
The present specimen was excavated from the Green River Formation, located predominantly in present day Wyoming. Today, the landscape is dry and windswept, with open plains and sparse vegetation stretching across an exposed terrain of layered limestone and shale that records ancient lake environments.
However, during the early Eocene, around 50 million years ago, this region was not arid but subtropical, with broad freshwater lakes surrounded by lush vegetation. The climate was warm and humid, supporting crocodiles, early mammals, insects, fish and dense forests along the lake margins, including palms such as Sabalites, whose fronds are preserved in exceptional detail within the fine sediments, contributing to a serene depiction of this ancient environment.
The lakes themselves teemed with life. Schooling fish such as Knightia eocaena, among the most abundant species in the formation, moved in vast numbers through the water, while larger predatory fish such as Diplomystus dentatus occupied a higher position in the food chain. Specimens preserving both flora and fauna together offer a rare glimpse into this balanced ecosystem, capturing a serene depiction of an ancient lakeside scene.