Lanternfish Fossil Lampanyctus Miocene 10 MYO California #16651 6o

Up for sale is a lot of 5 Lampanyctus lanternfish fossils from Los Angeles County, California.   A Lanternfish is a type of small, deep-sea bony fish with large eyes and a large mouth.   As their name suggests, a notable feature of this fish is their use of bioluminescence, which is the production and emission of light from special glandular organs on their bodies, called photophores.    Lanternfish date back to the Cretaceous period approximately 85 million years ago and are still in existence in the present day.   Lampanyctus lanternfish fossils are from the Late Miocene time period, about 10 million years ago.  This is a very unique fossil because of the chalky matrix or rock that surrounds the remains of the fish.  This specimen is from a very old collection that has been in storage since the 1970’s.   The quarry where these fish were collected is now closed so these fossils are hard to find.