Phareodus testis Fish Replica

$76.00

Phareodus testis or Phareodus encaustus was a freshwater fish with an oval outline, a small head, and a slightly pointed snout.

Description

Phareodus testis Fish Replica measures 17.2 inches. Phareodus testis Fish Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in the USA. Species Phareodus encaustus.

Phareodus testis or Phareodus encaustus is a genus of freshwater fish from the Eocene to the Oligocene of Australia, Europe and North America. Phareodus testis or Phareodus encaustus was more common in Fossil Lake and rarely occurs in Lake Gosiute or Lake Uinta.

As indicated by its name, Phareodus testis was a voracious predator. Spines from Mioplosus and Priscacara are frequently found in the stomachs of Phareodus.

Phareodus testis or Phareodus encaustus was a freshwater fish with an oval outline, a small head, and a slightly pointed snout. Its dorsal and anal fins were situated posteriorly, with the anal fin being larger. Its caudal fin was slightly forked. It had small pelvic fins but long, narrow pectoral fins.

Smallest of the two species, P. testis reaches a maximum length of 15 inches. Their body structure is thicker and more rounded then P. encaustus. Most differences of the species occurs in the skull. Phareodus testis or Dapedoglossus upper jaw structure is shorter then P. encaustus. The horizontal arm of preopercle is larger in P. testis than P. encaustus. The jaws are visably shorter and this species has few teeth. The scales of P. testis are larger and less numerous than P. encaustus.

This genus includes at least four species, P. testis (Leidy, 1873) and P. encaustus of North America, P. muelleri of Europe, and P. queenslandicus of Australia. Representatives have been found from the middle Eocene to the Oligocene of Australia, Europe and North America, including the Green River Formation in Wyoming, United States.

Eocene Epoch – Green River Formation deposits are found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, generally along the present-day Green River.

The Green River Formation sediments represent a continuous record of deposition that spans a 5 million year period from 53.5 to 48.5 mya. During that time, the uplift of the Rocky Mountains was nearly complete, creating a landscape of rugged mountain highlands separated by intermountain basins, many of which were occupied by lakes.

Three primary ancient lakes identified from sediment concentrations have been given the names Lake Uinta (spans most of the Eocene Epoch) , Lake Gosiute (Lower to Middle Eocene) and Fossil Lake (Early Eocene).

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Additional information

Weight 8 lbs
Dimensions 17.2 in
Phareodus testis Facts:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclass: Osteichthyes
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Osteoglossiformes
Family: Osteoglossidae
Genus: Phareodus
Species: P. encaustus
Conservation Status: Extinct -Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species.