Lot 805
Complete 140 Million Year Old Bird From China. Because birds have such delicate bones, they rarely fossilize, which is why the early history of bird evolution was poorly understood. The spectacular Jurassic-early Cretaceous fossils of Liaoning Province, China have changed all of this. We now know that birds are a type of dinosaur, with the most primitive birds such as Eoenantiornis still possessing teeth and claws on their wings. Eoenantiornis buhleri was a medium size primitive flying bird that lived 135-140 million years ago near Shanguan, Beipiao City, Liaoning Province of China.
This complete, magnificent speciment is 9" long on a 12" x 10" Tuffaceous stone matrix, which resulted from the volcanic ash of a gigantic eruption 135 million years ago compressing into a soft thin layer of rock over many millions of years. The inevitable cracks in this soft matrix have been smoothed and covered with gypsum and then backed for stability. The museum-quality specimen is perfectly centered and virtually complete with every delicate rib bone, head, claws, and even the V-shaped Furcula (wishbone) visible. The wings were 5" long with huge fingers and claws on its end. As a matter of fact, the claws on the wings were much larger than the claws on its feet, left over from their theropod dinosaur originas. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a very rare, important, and impressive fossil. Add $35 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,000.
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| Realized $5,175 |
