This is a Mene rhombeus, a beautifully-preserved fossil fish from the famous Monte Bolca (or Pesciara) site, in Verona, Italy. Of mid-Eocene age (about 50 million years ago), the Monte Bolca limestones were deposited on a coastal platform under a tropical conditions. Mene rhombeus is a deep-bodied fish, with unusual pelvic fins that are reduced to spines and located far forward on the body.
- Item reference: BRSUG 7967
- Photographer: Simon Powell
- Copyright: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol
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