3" Soft-Bodied Cretaceous Cephalopod w/ Ink Sack & Tentacles - Lebanon

This is a gorgeous and unusual, 3" long, soft-bodied fossil cephalopod from the Upper Cretaceous marine deposits of Lebanon. The preservation of this octopus specimen is phenomenal, including an ink sack, an outline of the octopus and tentacles. During collection, the rock split perfectly resulting in this beautiful positive/negative presentation of the fossil that required no repair or restoration.

Both the positive and negative halves of this specimen are included. Comes with two acrylic display stands.

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Hakel, Lebanon dates back many centuries. In fact, they were first mentioned in writing by Herodotus, over 450 years before the birth of Christ. The first scientific work on these localities began in the 1800s: these deposits have been meticulously quarried by several Lebanese families for over a century. We purchase our specimens directly from one of these families.

These deposits represent a warm, shallow sea of the Middle Cretaceous, and have yielded over 70 types of fish and numerous other genera found nowhere else in the world. The preservation on many of these specimens is truly amazing: many examples of soft bodied preservation have been found.

A photo of the quarry at Hakel, Lebanon
A photo of the quarry at Hakel, Lebanon

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidientifed
LOCATION
Hakel, Byblos, Lebanon
FORMATION
Sannine Formation
SIZE
3" fossil, 6.6 x 2.6" rock (different for each half)
ITEM
#173177
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