Harmony Beneath the Surface Stingray Fossil
Green River Formation Wyoming, USA Early to Middle Eocene, circa 56–48 Million Years Ago
Around 50 million years ago, the freshwater stingray Heliobatis radians glided through the subtropical lakes of the renowned Green River Formation, a vast and storied landscape stretching across present-day Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. This site remains one of the most celebrated fossil localities on Earth, famed for the sheer abundance and exquisite preservation of its ancient life.
stingray species are known from these layers, the other being the more primitive Asterotrygon maloneyi. With fewer than 1,100 specimens of Heliobatis ever recovered, each individual example is regarded as a rare and highly desirable find.
The species was first described in 1877 by the distinguished Yale paleontologist O.C. Marsh, and its holotype still resides today in the prestigious Peabody Museum of Natural History.
