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Museum Quality: Primitive and Rare Armored Fish Pterichthyodes milleri – Achanarras Quarry (Mainland Scotland)
Description:
For sale is an excellently preserved fossil of the highly bizarre prehistoric armored fish Pterichthyodes milleri from the Devonian period (approx. 385 million years old). This extinct genus of placoderms is famous for its distinctive head and trunk armor as well as its wing-like pectoral fins.
This premium display piece features very good preservation and is beautifully and harmoniously centered on the stone slab. What makes this piece particularly interesting and valuable for collectors is the rare locality: it does not come from the typical Orkney Islands, but from the Scottish mainland, from the famous yet inconspicuous site "Achanarras Quarry" near the village of Halkirk.
Historical Background of the Locality:
The Achanarras Quarry was an historically significant locality for fossil fish from the Old Red Sandstone. Originally, natural stone slabs were quarried here on a large scale. Quarrying began at the beginning of the 19th century and reached its absolute peak around the year 1900. Later, however, the industry declined due to rising costs. Today, finds from this location are rare collector's items.
Highlights of this collector's item:
Description:
For sale is an excellently preserved fossil of the highly bizarre prehistoric armored fish Pterichthyodes milleri from the Devonian period (approx. 385 million years old). This extinct genus of placoderms is famous for its distinctive head and trunk armor as well as its wing-like pectoral fins.
This premium display piece features very good preservation and is beautifully and harmoniously centered on the stone slab. What makes this piece particularly interesting and valuable for collectors is the rare locality: it does not come from the typical Orkney Islands, but from the Scottish mainland, from the famous yet inconspicuous site "Achanarras Quarry" near the village of Halkirk.
Historical Background of the Locality:
The Achanarras Quarry was an historically significant locality for fossil fish from the Old Red Sandstone. Originally, natural stone slabs were quarried here on a large scale. Quarrying began at the beginning of the 19th century and reached its absolute peak around the year 1900. Later, however, the industry declined due to rising costs. Today, finds from this location are rare collector's items.
Highlights of this collector's item:
- Bizarre Anatomy: The impressive armored fish Pterichthyodes is one of the most unique and sought-after forms of the Devonian period.
- Aesthetics: The fish is perfectly centered on the stone – an ideal showcase piece.
- Rarity: A coveted mainland specimen from a historic and now closed Scottish locality.
- Originality: No restorations. The animal's head armor is present and rests flipped open to the side.
- Size of the Fossil: The fish itself has an impressive size of approx. 12.5 x 9.5 cm. The stone was once broken and has been cleanly glued; it measures approximately 19 x 18.5 x 1.8 cm.
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