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Details
LOT 2532
Natural History - Knightia Fossil Fish in Matrix
EOCENE PERIOD, 56-33 MILLION YEARS B.P.
5 5/8 in. (348 grams, 14.2 cm).
Displaying a Knightia alta specimen. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From Wyoming, Green River Formation, U.S.A.
Acquired during the 1980s.
From the Pradi Collection, Boston, U.S.A.
Footnotes
In southwest Wyoming (and parts of Colorado and Utah) in the Green River Formation are found some of the world's most outstanding specimens of fossil fish. The Green River system was composed of three lakes: Lake Ulinta, Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake. These Eocene Lakes lay in a series of intermountain basins formed by geological events that uplifted the Rocky Mountains during the early Tertiary time. The climate was much different from the desert-like climate of this area today. Both the fauna (crocodiles, alligators, boa constrictors and some subtropical fish families) and the flora (such as large palm trees) indicate a climate much like that found along the Gulf Coast today. Large amounts of ash found in the sediments indicate that volcanoes were particularly active at this time.
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Natural History - Knightia Fossil Fish in Matrix
Eocene Period, 56-33 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Displaying a Knightia alta specimen. 348 grams, 14.2 cm
From Wyoming, Green River Formation, U.S.A. Acquired during the 1980s. From the Pradi Collection, Boston, U.S.A.
In southwest Wyoming (and parts of Colorado and Utah) in the Green River Formation are found some of the world's most outstanding specimens of fossil fish. The Green River system was composed of three lakes: Lake Ulinta, Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake. These Eocene Lakes lay in a series of intermountain basins formed by geological events that uplifted the Rocky Mountains during the early Tertiary time. The climate was much different from the desert-like climate of this area today. Both the fauna (crocodiles, alligators, boa constrictors and some subtropical fish families) and the flora (such as large palm trees) indicate a climate much like that found along the Gulf Coast today. Large amounts of ash found in the sediments indicate that volcanoes were particularly active at this time.
