{"product_id":"allenypterus-montanus","title":"Allenypterus montanus","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTaxa:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAllenypterus montanus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeology:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Heath formation-Bear Gulch \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAge:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Mississippian-Carboniferous\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocality:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Fergus County, Montana\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAllenypterus montanus\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAllenypterus montanus\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e was a small, unusual coelacanth from the Late Carboniferous of what is now Montana, living about 318–324 million years ago in tropical bay or estuarine waters. It had a distinctive deep, tear-drop or tadpole-like body, with a strongly elongated ribbon-like upper tail region and reduced fins, giving it a slow-swimming, maneuverable profile rather than the classic robust coelacanth look. Fossils suggest it reached only about 15 cm long, and preserved gut contents indicate it likely fed on small soft-bodied prey while moving through calm waters\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBear Gulch Limestone\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eThe Bear Gulch Limestone is a Late Mississippian limestone lens in central Montana, about 324 million years old, famous as a **lagerstätte** because it preserves marine life in exceptional detail. It formed in a shallow tropical bay in the Central Montana Trough and consists of fine-grained, laminated carbonate sediments deposited in short pulses, likely driven by seasonal storms and density flows that rapidly buried organisms in low-oxygen mud. As a result, it preserves a diverse Carboniferous ecosystem with fishes, invertebrates, algae, and even soft-tissue details such as gut contents and delicate body outlines, making it one of the most important fossil sites for studying Paleozoic marine life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Minute Man Fossils","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46495051808905,"sku":null,"price":2800.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0586\/1022\/1193\/files\/20260506-084804.jpg?v=1778109840","url":"https:\/\/www.minutemantradingpost.com\/products\/allenypterus-montanus","provider":"Minute Man Fossils","version":"1.0","type":"link"}