Knightia is an extinct genus of clupeid bony fish that lived in the freshwater lakes and rivers of North America and Asia during the Eocene epoch.

Mar 17, 2017 · An in-depth profile of Knightia, including this prehistoric fish's characteristics, behavior and habitat.

The most common fossil fish found in the Green River Formation is Knightia. Knightia was a herring-like, schooling fish which averaged about 3-4 inches in length, though it could grow up to 10 inches long.

Nov 19, 2024 · Knightia alta, catalog number FOBU13444 . NPS photo. Both K. eocaena and K. alta are frequently discovered in mass mortality plates, some containing up to 100 fish per square meter. This suggests that, like their modern relatives, the Knightia species were sensitive to environmental changes.

Knightia eocaena is perhaps the most common complete vertebrate fossil in the world. It is Wyoming's state fossil. National Park Service photo. Enlarge image.

Knightia, (Knightia eocaena,) a prehistoric herring that left countless fossils in Wyoming, was named the state fossil. Prehistoric type of herring, closely related to today's Clupea herrings - lived 50 million years ago in a freshwater lake in what is now southwestern Wyoming.

Knightia is an extinct genus of freshwater herring found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, USA. They are well known across the world due to the extreme abundance of their fossils . Knightia existed 50-40 million years ago during the Eocene epoch.

Nov 17, 2014 · Knightia were small freshwater fish often described as‭ ‘‬herring-like‭’ ‬that lived in North America during the Eocene period.‭ ‬Also because Knightia were schooling fish they are often preserved still in their shoals with some specimens even being preserved on top of each other.‭ ‬This is why so many fossils of this fish ...

Jun 13, 2021 · Knightia, a small species of freshwater herring, lived and died in the Eocene Epoch, approximately 50 million years ago. We know this because their fossils have been found in great number in the limestone strata of the Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming.

This particular fish is Knightia alta, a close relative of Knightia eocaena. It is a more robust species, and is far less common than K. eocaena in Fossil Lake. At a maximum size of 150 mm, it was just over ½ the size of K. eocaena.