Photo: Timmy Li, In Stone Fossils Quarry
- Order
- Clupeiformes
- Family
- Clupeidae
- Size
- Average adult about 6 in; up to about 10 in
Wyoming's state fossil and the most common articulated vertebrate fossil in the world.
The Clupeidae family has an estimated 50 modern freshwater species. Clupeidae species can lay as many as 200,000 eggs at once, allowing species to multiply quickly. Modern species are also prone to mass die-offs.
K. eocaena is the most common fish found from Fossil Lake, the most commonly found articulated (complete) vertebrate fossil in the world, and the Wyoming state fossil.
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. K. eocaena specimens of all sizes are found in mass mortality plates, indicating this species schooled as both a juvenile and adult.
Species text: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument — Fossil Fish Species.