predecessor to dolphin
10 December 2024
Description

Inherited with the purchase of our home; was embedded in a wall. Previous owners state that it was acquired at the Tucson Gem & Mineral show around 20 years ago. Said to be a predecessor to the dolphin from around 200 million years old and is from China.

Dimensions

30" x 10"

Acquired from
Inherited
For sale
Yes
Answered within 3 days
By Amber R
Dec 14, 04:38 UTC
Fair Market Value
$400 - $600 USD
Suggested Asking Price $500 USD
What does this mean?

Possible Kentriodontidae Fossil Plate
Late Oligocene to Late Miocene (28 million to 5.3 million years ago)
Excavation Source: Asia, China

This is a possible skeleton of primitive aquatic reptiles known as the Sauropterygia, meaning "lizard flippers". The fossil can be found in Kweichow (now Guizhou Province) China where the first fossil specimen of the genus was discovered in 1957. The fossil discovery has prompted the speculation that this was a land-dwelling animal that adapted to become fully aquatic. The Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, their prior evolutionary history is uncertain. It is a possibility that they evolved into the more familiar marine forms with fully paddled feet, known to us as the plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and elasmosaurs. This example is in relief from the matrix and appears to have a twist to the upper neck vertebrae and a loss of the lower jaw. Plate measures: 30" x 10"; unknown weight.

I do suggest an in-person evaluation with a regional university or museum. They will be able to confirm the authenticity of the example. They may given a higher FMV valuation than I can give based on being able to assess the weight, matrix, and fossil/ bone detail. It an in-person alssessment authenticates the Fossil, I would estimate a FMV of about 1200 to 2500 USD.

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