Knightia eocaena Fossil Fish – 242g, Fossil Lake Safari Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming (Mud Layer)

A detailed and beautifully preserved fossil fish from one of the world's most celebrated Eocene localities — this Knightia eocaena specimen weighs 242 grams and was recovered from the Fossil Lake Safari Quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming, USA. Knightia eocaena is the most commonly found fish in the Green River Formation and is in fact the official state fossil of Wyoming, yet fine specimens with exceptional detail remain highly desirable to collectors worldwide.

What makes this specimen particularly special is its provenance within the quarry: it comes from a specific bedding plane known as the mud layer — a distinct stratigraphic horizon within the Green River Formation that is renowned among preparators and collectors for producing specimens with exceptional soft tissue preservation and fine anatomical detail. Fish from the mud layer frequently display preserved scales, fin rays, and skeletal structure in remarkable clarity, making them significantly more detailed than specimens from other horizons at the same site.

The Green River Formation was deposited in a vast, warm, subtropical lake system approximately 50 million years ago during the Eocene epoch, and the fine-grained carbonate sediments of Fossil Lake created ideal conditions for the preservation of fish and other organisms in extraordinary detail.

• Fossil: Knightia eocaena (Fossil Fish)
• Formation: Green River Formation (Mud Layer)
• Age: Eocene (approx. 50 million years)
• Origin: Fossil Lake Safari Quarry, Kemmerer, Wyoming, USA
• Weight: 242g