Stratum.black
Notogoneus osculus — Notogoneus osculus
Notogoneus osculus — Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Fish

Notogoneus osculus

Sand fish

Notogoneus osculus is a slender, bottom-feeding fish of Fossil Lake with a small ventral mouth and a long body reaching 40 cm. It is uncommon and easily recognised by its needle-like shape. Complete specimens are a good find for the Green River specialist.

PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderGonorynchiformes
FamilyGonorynchidae
GroupFish
Rank (PBDB)genus· Paleobiology Database
AuthorCope 1885· Paleobiology Database
Classification (PBDB)Chordata › Osteichthyes › Gonorynchiformes › Gonorhynchidae· Paleobiology Database
Range (PBDB)85.7–5.33 Ma· Paleobiology Database
PBDB occurrences18· Paleobiology Database

Photographs

Notogoneus osculus — Notogoneus osculus Cope
Notogoneus osculus Cope — Smithsonian Institution (NMNHPALEO), Smithsonian Open Access, CC0
Notogoneus osculus — Notogoneus osculus Cope
Notogoneus osculus Cope — Smithsonian Institution (NMNHPALEO), Smithsonian Open Access, CC0
Notogoneus osculus — Notogoneus osculus Cope
Notogoneus osculus Cope — Smithsonian Institution (NMNHPALEO), Smithsonian Open Access, CC0

Age

Formations

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Study. "Notogoneus osculus" (Taxon). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/taxa/notogoneus-osculus. Accessed 2026-09-20.

BibTeX · CSL-JSON

@misc{stratum-notogoneus-osculus,
  title        = {Notogoneus osculus},
  author       = {{Stratum Study}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/taxa/notogoneus-osculus}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Taxon article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons, smithsonian, nhm. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
}

Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.