XXL 4.4" Knightia Eocaena Fossil Fish Green River FM WY Eocene Age COA & Stand

Location: Kemmerer, Wyoming

Weight: 14.8 Ounces

Dimensions: 7 Inches Long, 6.1 Inches Wide, 0.3 Inches Thick (Plate)

The Fish is: 4.4 Inches Long, 1.2 Inches Wide

Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Comes with a Free Stand.

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

This is a genuine fossil.

50 million years old, Eocene age

Knightia Eocaena is the most common fish in Fossil Lake and may be the most commonly articulated vertebrate fossil in the world. It is Wyoming's State Fossil. Length:  up to 25 cm (10 in).

Fifty million years ago, ancient Fossil Lake existed in what is now southwest Wyoming.  Of its estimated maximum extent of 930 square miles, approximately 500 square miles of sediment remains. The 230 square miles across the center of the ancient lake-bed contain exceptionally fossiliferous sediments and associated geologic features, including deltas, beaches, springs, and rocks from the center and nearshore environments. 

The distinct chemistry of Fossil Lake stopped decay and scavenging, allowing even delicate organisms to be preserved. Over time, millimeter-thick limestone layers built up, creating finely laminated deposits with the highest concentration of fossil fish in the world. Alongside these fish, other aquatic life and geologic features make Fossil Lake the most complete Paleogene record of a freshwater lake ecosystem.

Since their discovery in the 1870s, numerous perfectly preserved fossil fish have been recovered from Fossil Lake. Alongside these fish, the laminated limestone preserves a complete ancient aquatic ecosystem, including cyanobacteria, plants, insects, and crustaceans such as shrimp, crawfish, and ostracods. Fossils of amphibians (frogs and primitive salamanders), alligators, turtles, birds, and mammals—including the oldest known pantolestid, an otter-like animal—add to the remarkable diversity.

The surrounding subtropical terrestrial ecosystem is also represented by rare fossils. These include an early horse, snakes, lizards, bats (two species), birds, an apatemyid (tree-dwelling insectivore), a miacod (primitive carnivore), various insects, and more than 325 species of fossilized leaves, seeds, and flowers. Together, these discoveries provide an unparalleled window into both aquatic and terrestrial life during the Eocene Epoch.