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Knightia
- Knightia eocaena was
the first fossil fish from
the Green River Formation
to be scientifically described.
It was collected in 1856 by
geologist Dr. John Evans,
and sent to Dr. Joseph Leidy,
M.D., who identified the fish
as a herring, which he named
Clupea humilis, which
was later changed to the current
name, in honor of paleontologist
Wilbur Clinton Knight.
Knightia (average
length: 3.5") occur frequently
in the deposits of our quarry,
most prominently in the layer
we have named "Fossil
Storm". This is a "mass
mortality" layer featuring
relatively dense concentrations
of fossilized Knightia.
Theories on cause range from
stratified water turnover
to toxins in the water produced
by blue-green algae.
[Source: Paleontology of the
Green River Formation, with
a Review of the Fish Fauna,
by Lance Grande, PhD., Curator,
Fossil Fishes, Department
of Geology, the Field Museum,
Chicago, IL]
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