Year: 2014
There is nothing more emblematic of the Northwest than salmon, and appropriately our fossil record is rich in these fish (including the oldest known member of the family). The most impressive of these has been known by several names: the saber-toothed salmon, the spike-toothed salmon (the second of these being more appropriate given that its enlarged canines were more tusk- than saber-like), Smilodonichthys, and Onchorhynchus rastrosus (this last, correct name reflecting the fact that it's more closely related to sockeye salmon than sockeye are to any other species). Regardless of what you call it, it was an impressively enormous animal, and no one has devoted as much canvas to it as Ray Troll. The species was originally decsribed from a site near Madras, Oregon, and the best-preserved specimens are still found in the area, so it was only appropriate that when the University of Oregon opened their new fossil hall in 2014 that O. rastrosus should be the centerpiece, and the collaboration between Troll and Staab resulted in the best tribute out there to this most magnificent of fish.
Want to see more? The UO Museum of Natural & Cultural History is well worth a visit for several reasons, this mural and sculpture chief among them (and I'm not at all biased because I spent so many hours working for and in the museum as a grad student).
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