Priscacara liops Prehistoric Fossil Fish Osteichthyes Bony Fish Eocene Terziary Collection

Prehistoric Fossil Fish Priscacara liops cm 12 slab cm 19.6 x 14.3 x 1 - gr 5455 Osteichthyes Extinct Bony Fish Cenozoic Tertiart Eocene Collecting Paleontology Museum.
Priscacara is an extinct genus of Perch belonging to the Percidae family (Actinopterygii, Perciformes), dating from the Middle Eocene.
Fossils of this genus have been found in rocks called "Green River Shales Formations" dating back to the Eocene (56 to 34 million years ago), in the US states of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. The Priscacara fossils are common in the fossil lake deposits of western Wyoming and are rare in the deposits of the Gossiute Lake in Wyoming and in the Uinta Lake deposits of Utah and Colorado. Some findings also come from the deposits of Lake Washington and British Columbia of the Middle Eocene.
It is characterized by a body similar to goldfish and its robust dorsal and anal spines. The mass deaths of Priscacara with which many fossil remains have been found suggest that he lived in colonies.
The dimensions varied: from 10 cm of P. liops to 37 cm of P. serrata.
Currently, among the uncovered fossils, two species are recognized, based on the phylogenetic revision of Priscacara carried out:
Priscacara serrata Cope 1877
Priscacara liops Cope 1977
The two species differ in the number of dorsal and anal fin rays, and in the larger serrated posterior edge of the preoperculum in P. serrata. P. liops, usually smaller and more common, also has small conical teeth on the pharyngeal jaw, while P. serrata has large serrated teeth that suggest a diet of snails and crustaceans.
The species Priscacara pealei is still of doubtful classification.