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Fossil Fish are very common in both fresh and salt water fossil deposits in Florida. Two basic types are found here, the Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes; rays, skates and sharks) and Actinopterygii (bony fishes). The fossil record for these two groups goes back to the Paleozoic Era, but begins in Florida during the Eocene Period. By the Eocene Period, both groups are well evolved.
The cartilaginous fishes backbones do not fossilize as well as the harder Bony Fishes backbones do. Therefore, it is rare to find any back bone material of a shark, skate or ray, and more commonly you find fossil teeth.
The bony fishes of Florida cover a wide variety of niches, including fresh, brackish and salt water. Identifying these different types of fish lends itself to key indicators of past paleo-environments.
The most abundant ones that are found in Florida are the common variety of fish, sharks and rays that live in the environments close to shore.
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| Knightia Temporal range: Early Eocene | |
|---|---|
| Knightia alta specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
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| Genus: | Knightia |
| Type species | |
| Knightia eocaena Jordan, 1907 | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
Clupea eocaenaJordan], 1907 | |
Knightia is an extinctgenus of clupeidbony fish that lived in the freshwater lakes and rivers of North America and Asia during the Eoceneepoch. The genus was erected by David Starr Jordan in 1907, in honor of the late University of Wyoming professor Wilbur Clinton Knight, 'an indefatigable student of the paleontology of the Rocky Mountains.' [1] It is the official state fossil of Wyoming,[2] and the most commonly excavated fossil fish in the world.[3]
Knightia belongs to the same taxonomic family as herring and sardines, and resembled the former closely enough that both Knightia alta and Knightia eocaena were originally described as species of true herring in the genus Clupea.
As with modern-day clupeids, Knightia spp. likely fed on algae and diatoms, as well as insects and occasionally smaller fish.[4]
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Anatomy[edit]
In Knightia fish, rows of dorsal and ventralscutes run from the back of the head to the medial fins. They had heavy scales and small conical teeth. Their size varied by species: Knightia eocaena was the longest, growing up to 25 cm (10 in), though most specimens are no larger than 15 cm.[5]K. alta was shorter and relatively wider, with specimens averaging between 6 and 10 cm.[5]
Predators[edit]
A small schooling fish, Knightia made an abundant food source for larger Eocene predators. The Green River Formation has yielded many fossils of larger fish species preying on Knightia; specimens of Diplomystus, Lepisosteus, Amphiplaga, Mioplosus, Phareodus, Amia, and Astephus have all been found with Knightia in either their jaws or stomachs.[4]
Gallery[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^Jordan, D. S. 1907. 'The fossil fishes of California; with supplementary notes on other species of extinct fishes'. Bulletin Department of Geology, University of California 5:136
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-01-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^Kelley, Patricia H.; Kowalewski, Michał; Hansen, Thor A. (2003). Predator-prey interactions in the fossil record. ISBN0-306-47489-1.
- ^ abGrande, L. 1980. The paleontology of the Green River Formation, with a review of the fish fauna. Wyoming Geol. Surv., Bull. 63, pp. 85.
- ^ abGrande, Lance (June 7, 1982). 'A Revision of the Fossil Genus †Knightia, With a Description of a New Genus From the Green River Formation (Teleostei, Clupeidae)'(PDF). American Museum Novitates. ISSN0003-0082. OCLC47720325. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
External links[edit]
- Data related to Knightia at Wikispecies
- Media related to Knightia at Wikimedia Commons