XL 4.1" Knightia Eocaena Fossil Fish Green River FM Wyoming Eocene Age COA & Stand
Location: Kemmerer, Wyoming
Weight: 15.4 Ounces
Dimensions: 6 Inches Long, 4 Inches Wide, 0.6 Inches Thick (Plate)
Fish Dimensions: 4.1 Inches Long, 1.6 Inches Wide
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50 million years old, Eocene age
Knightia eocaena, the most common fish found in Fossil Lake, may also be the most abundant articulated vertebrate fossil in the world. Officially recognized as Wyoming’s State Fossil, this prehistoric fish could grow up to 25 cm (10 inches) in length and remains one of the most iconic fossils ever discovered.
Around 50 million years ago, during the Eocene Epoch, a vast body of water known as Fossil Lake stretched across what is now southwest Wyoming. At its maximum, the lake covered nearly 930 square miles, though today about 500 square miles of sediment remain. Within the central 230-square-mile fossil bed, scientists have uncovered exceptionally fossil-rich layers alongside preserved deltas, beaches, mineral springs, and nearshore rock formations that reveal the lake’s ancient environment.
What makes Fossil Lake unique is its unusual water chemistry, which prevented both decay and scavenging of dead organisms. Over time, millimeter-thick layers of limestone slowly accumulated, creating finely laminated deposits. These rocks preserve the highest concentration of fossil fish in the world, along with a wealth of other aquatic life and geologic features. As a result, Fossil Lake provides the most complete Paleogene freshwater lake ecosystem record anywhere on Earth.
Since their discovery in the 1870s, countless perfectly preserved fossils have been recovered from the Green River Formation. Alongside fish, researchers have found a complete aquatic ecosystem that includes cyanobacteria, plants, insects, shrimp, crawfish, ostracods, amphibians (frogs and primitive salamanders), alligators, turtles, birds, and mammals such as the oldest known pantolestid, an otter-like animal.
The surrounding subtropical terrestrial ecosystem is also represented in rare fossils. These include an early horse, snakes, lizards, two bat species, additional birds, an apatemyid (a tree-dwelling insectivore), a miacod (one of the earliest carnivores), insects, and more than 325 species of fossilized leaves, seeds, and flowers. Together, these remarkable discoveries make Fossil Lake one of the world’s richest fossil sites and an unparalleled resource for understanding life in the Eocene.
