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Dpaul7

Knightia eoceana Fish fossil

 

Fossil Lake, Green River Formation, Wyoming
Eocene Epoch - Approximately 52-58 Million Years Old
Knightia is an extinct genus of clupeid clupeiform bony fish that lived in the fresh water lakes and rivers of North America and Asia during the Eocene epoch. The genus was erected by David Starr Jordan in 1907, in honor of the late University of Wyoming professor Wilbur Clinton Knight, "an indefatigable student of the paleontology of the Rocky Mountains." It is the state fossil of Wyoming,and the most commonly excavated fossil fish in the world. In Knightia fish, rows of dorsal and ventral scutes run from the back of the head to the medial fins. They had heavy scales, and small conical teeth. Their size varied by species: Knightia eocaena was the longest, growing up to 25 centimeters (10 inches), though most specimens are no larger than 15 centimeters.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeidae
Family: Pellonulinae
Genus: †Knightia
Species: †eoceana


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