Microbrachius means "little arms" and refers to the genital limbs that locked male and female fish together when mating. This specimen is of a male due to its "L" shaped claspers which were used to hold the female whilst mating. The male of this species is incredibly rare and is probably one of the first fossil records of mating. A very interesting, extremely well preserved ancient Antiarch.
The study of these fossils has baffled scientists for many years, as to what these bony paired arms were actually used for. The mystery has been solved - this is a female Antiarch which has been beautifully preserved and is more or less complete. Specimens such as this are highly sought after as they show the first signs of genitalia in the fossil record.
Preserved in a hard phosphatic nodule are large sections of jaw with teeth preserved. The quality throughout the specimen is outstanding. Specimens such as this are hard to find and are very sought after thesedays. One for the collector of fine fossils.
