Description: An unusual, rare example of a ray commonly called a guitarfish, this is a well preserved member known as Rhinobatos. There are some 7 genera and 45 species of extant Rhinobatids, most of which have similar morphology to this one. R=The degree of preservation for a cartilaginous fish is amazing; there is NO paint commonly seen restoring the fin rays or anything else. There are repairs to the matrix; typically, larger specimens do not come out as easily as the far younger Green River fish, and the material is quarried by hand. Typically, all that remains of members of the Chondricthyes are teeth, since they are the only real hard parts to the entire specimen. Preservation such as this is a rare event, particularly as juvenile specimens have even less calcification than adults.

Also see: Class Chondrichthyes Fossils