Details

LOT 2364

Natural History - Knightia Fossil Fish

EOCENE PERIOD, CIRCA 58 MILLION YEARS B.P.

5 in. (147 grams, 12.8 cm).

The rectangular matrix containing a Knightia alta fish. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From Wyoming (Green River Formation), USA.
Acquired during 1980s.
From the Pradi Collection, Boston, U.S.A.

Footnotes

Seasonally some 58 million years ago, in the Green River region of Wyoming, torrential rains fell in the mountains. They flowed down the mountain sides, forming wide shallow lakes in the valley below. During the dry season, these lakes would dry up due to evaporation (as happens in certain parts of Africa today). Millions of fish died in this short period of time. This climatic cycle happened over a 20-thousand-year period. Layer upon layer of mud entombed all these fish. At a much later date, volcanic activity uplifted this area to expose the fossils.