Plate containing the Lepidopus

Incredible close up detail of the head

View showing the tail of the fish prey

Lepidopus caudatus

Product description

Silver Scabbard fish, a variety of the Cutlass Fish, of the family Trichiuridae, exist in the temperate seas of today. This ancestor was a voracious predator of smaller prey during the Oligocene, 34m to 23m years ago.
 
This remarkable specimen was discovered in the Carpathian Mountains of the Ukraine.
 
The fish is well preserved displaying the head and upper part of the body. It shows another fish in the mouth of the creature. Could it be that the Lepidopus choked on this final meal. Unfortunately we will never know for sure, but the prescence of the other fish makes this fossil even more interesting.
 
This is a rare fossil, in that it also displays the skull.
Many other fossils are only partials of the body.
 
This is a rare and exceptional fossil to add to a collection.
 
Matrix size:     21cms x 18cms (8.2" x 7")
 
Fossil size:       15cms long (6.0")