SHX028 - MUSEUM GRADE 24 INCH CRETACEOUS GUITARFISH RAY FOSSIL RHINOBATOS FROM LEBANON WITH ULTRA-RARE PRESERVATION

Product Description

ITEM # 

SHX028

ID

Rhinobatos (Guitarfish)

FOUND

Hajoula, Lebanon

AGE

UPPER CRETACEOUS (CENOMIAN):  96 - 92 million years ago

SIZE

26" x x 23.5" overall, ray is 24" long if straight

CONDITION

100% ORIGINAL WITH NO PAINTING OR ENHANCEMENT
OF ANATOMY OR COLOR.  REPAIR TO STONE SLAB
AND REINFORCEMENT ON REVERSE SIDE.  METAL HANGER
ON BACK.  NO FABRICATION OR RESTORATION TO FOSSIL.

NOTE

IMPOSSIBLE TO IMPROVE!  EVERY DETAIL PRESERVED
AND WITH NATURAL ASSOCIATION OF OTHER MARINE
LIFE ON SLAB!  MOST OF THESE ARE PAINTED, YET THIS 
ONE 100% NATURAL COLOR AND COMPLETE!

HANGING HARDWARE INCLUDED - Actual Item - One Only

Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet

CONTACT US TO PURCHASE THIS

Displaying the absolute FINEST, MUSEUM-CLASS preservation with  100% NATURAL AND AUTHENTIC COMPLETE ANATOMY AND COLOR, this is a supreme example of a prehistoric guiitarfish of the genus Rhinobatos  of the Late Cretaceous limestone deposits of Lebanon.  The quality and degree of preservation of this fossil is IMPECCABLE and better than ANY example of this species we can find.  Keep in mind that the majority of fossils of tyis type are heavily restored and artificially colored but this example displays  all natural colors with soft body tissue fully preserved in entirety.  The long rostrum is COMPLETE TO THE EXTREME DISTAL TIP and all fins showing full preservation and natural coloration.  Present is also a fully preserved spinal column in full 3D perspective as well as the entire internal skeletal structure intact and without any enhancement or reconstruction. 

At 24 inches in length and on its original limestone plate (not inserted into a separate rock slab), this is an extremely impressive size guitarfish fossil.  This guitarfish fossil was found together naturally on the same rock with numerous shrimp fossils and a decapod (lobster) fossil.  Those crustacean fossils have also been spared the typical painting and fake enhancement often seen on Lebanese shrimp fossils, as all the crustacean fossils are also natural without any added painting or drawing of anatomy to them. 

This investment-grade specimen can easily be appreciated as a large, decorative display specimen as much as it is impressive on a scientific level.  It has both - extreme aesthetics AND rarity - and this is the hallmark of true collector fossils that very few specimens can boast of.  A fossil such as this, that is large enough to appreciate as an interior design focal point AND as a RARE scientific specimen, belongs in a very select group in the realm of paleontology and this remarkable specimen easily rises to that level on both aspects. 

MANY Lebanese fossils are heavily painted and restored but this specimen has none of those detracting features.  The color you see is 100% authentic and original.  The slab has several of the typical repaired cuts from the quarry saw and these lines are visible but no part of the fossils themselves were fabricated.  It is quite the norm to take blank rock or rock with only a tiny portion of a fossil body and recreate the entire animal in paint and carving.  The NATURAL presence of very fine details can be seen on close inspection but fakes will lack such detail.   Please see here for further explanation.  We prepared this specimen in our own lab facility and we know first-hand, about the original condition from the quarry owners, of how the fossils are found and what they look like before any work commences on a piece prepared for market.  We have seen some phenomenally good artwork and creative license taken with large shark and ray fossils from Lebanon and those specimens are worth a small fraction of one that has all the authentic, natural color and detail in original form when it was found. 

To allow the safe hanging of this specimen, the rock has a thick epoxy and steel armature reinforcing it on the back.  It comes with hardware for hanging on either a wood-frame wall or masonry wall.   The overall slab thickness is approximately 2" thick.

This guitarfish ray was alive when some of the most famous dinosaurs ruled the planet like Tyrannosaurus rex, and airplane-sized pterodactyls soared overhead.  Such a fossil is really a remarkable example of an uncommon marine creature from the days of the dinosaurs.  Its stunning preservation make this an investment specimen, as well as a highly impressive display fossil for interior design.  It is a prize example for the very discriminating collector seeking to acquire only the best fossils available.  Specimens like this are true investments considering the world-wide appeal of fossils and the demand for the rarest and finest examples such as this.