Description

Whiteia oishii sp.
Coelacanth
Late Triassic
Noe Bihati, West Timor, Indonesia

250mm concretion with 143mm coelacanth and 106mm partial fish.

Fish. Association. Rare.

Whiteia is an extinct genus of coelacanth known from the Triassic of Indonesia, Madagascar, and North America (British Columbia). Coelacanths represent an ancient and once diverse lineage of fishes represented by only one genus (two species) that survives in only two small areas of the world today. It’s a relative of lungfishes and early amphibians and it has the otherworldly look of something time forgot.

Coelacanths are so unique that there are collectors who specialize in acquiring specimens from different fossil localities.  In the old days, you would see them at shows from the Carboniferous of Montana or the Triassic of Madagascar. This specimen comes from one of the lesser-known sites. Even more unusual is that this piece also contains part of another fish.