File #2720: "TftT Knightia Brochure.pdf"
PDF Text
Text
What’s a “Lagerstätte”?
Knightia eocaena is found in the Green River
Formation in Wyoming. The Green River
Formation is a “lagerstätte.”
A lagerstätte (pronounced “lahger-shtaht”-plural “lagerstätten”) is a German word that
refers to a deposit of sedimentary rock that
contains exceptionally preserved fossils. Often,
lagerstätten will preserve the soft parts of a
fossil, like the fins and tail of Knightia. These
soft parts rarely fossilize under normal
circumstances.
Lagerstätten form in anoxic environments like
deep lakes or the bottom of the ocean. Anoxic
means that there’s no oxygen available.
Because there isn’t any oxygen, it will take
much longer for a dead organism to decay, and
predators can’t get to it.
The Green River Formation is located in
Fossil Butte National Monument
By TigerScientist - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107075050
Scan the QR code to learn
more or visit “Tales from
the Table” at
https://msstateexhibits.libraryhost.com/exhibits/show/tftt
TALES
FROM THE TABLE!
SPOTLIGHT SPECIMEN
KNIGHTIA EOCAENA
Meet Knightia eocaena
How do fossils form?
A step by step guide to
becoming a fossil:
1: Death
By NPS - http://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=F17B1C64-155D-451F-6765341D9B8E553F,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30307728
Knightia eocaena was a type of small
fish, 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) that lived in
the Eocene Epoch (56-47 million years
ago). Knightia eocaena is the State
Fossil of Wyoming, and it is one of the
most commonly excavated fossil fish in
the world. It likely age algae, insects,
and other, smaller fish. It lived in
freshwater lakes and rivers in North
America.
By Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) - Own work, CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19460300
The fish dies and
floats down to the
bottom of the lake.
There, scavengers
may begin to feed on
it or it may begin to
decay.
2: Buried quickly
The fish is covered in
sediment like mud or
sand. In order to
make a fossil, the fish
must be buried before
it decays completely.
3: Transformation
Once it’s been buried,
the fish’s body and
the sediment around
it will go through
chemical changes.
The organic material
in the fish is replaced
with minerals and the
sediment surrounding
it hardens into rock.
3: Thousands of years
later...
Scientists estimate
that on average, it
takes about 10,000
years for something
to become a fossil
4: Uplift or erosion
Fossils need to be
close to the surface
for people to find
them. In order to get
back to the surface,
a fossil needs to be
either pushed up via
uplift or uncovered
when the rock
around it is eroded.
5: Discovery!
Knightia eocaena is found in the Green River
Formation in Wyoming. The Green River
Formation is a “lagerstätte.”
A lagerstätte (pronounced “lahger-shtaht”-plural “lagerstätten”) is a German word that
refers to a deposit of sedimentary rock that
contains exceptionally preserved fossils. Often,
lagerstätten will preserve the soft parts of a
fossil, like the fins and tail of Knightia. These
soft parts rarely fossilize under normal
circumstances.
Lagerstätten form in anoxic environments like
deep lakes or the bottom of the ocean. Anoxic
means that there’s no oxygen available.
Because there isn’t any oxygen, it will take
much longer for a dead organism to decay, and
predators can’t get to it.
The Green River Formation is located in
Fossil Butte National Monument
By TigerScientist - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107075050
Scan the QR code to learn
more or visit “Tales from
the Table” at
https://msstateexhibits.libraryhost.com/exhibits/show/tftt
TALES
FROM THE TABLE!
SPOTLIGHT SPECIMEN
KNIGHTIA EOCAENA
Meet Knightia eocaena
How do fossils form?
A step by step guide to
becoming a fossil:
1: Death
By NPS - http://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=F17B1C64-155D-451F-6765341D9B8E553F,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30307728
Knightia eocaena was a type of small
fish, 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) that lived in
the Eocene Epoch (56-47 million years
ago). Knightia eocaena is the State
Fossil of Wyoming, and it is one of the
most commonly excavated fossil fish in
the world. It likely age algae, insects,
and other, smaller fish. It lived in
freshwater lakes and rivers in North
America.
By Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) - Own work, CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19460300
The fish dies and
floats down to the
bottom of the lake.
There, scavengers
may begin to feed on
it or it may begin to
decay.
2: Buried quickly
The fish is covered in
sediment like mud or
sand. In order to
make a fossil, the fish
must be buried before
it decays completely.
3: Transformation
Once it’s been buried,
the fish’s body and
the sediment around
it will go through
chemical changes.
The organic material
in the fish is replaced
with minerals and the
sediment surrounding
it hardens into rock.
3: Thousands of years
later...
Scientists estimate
that on average, it
takes about 10,000
years for something
to become a fossil
4: Uplift or erosion
Fossils need to be
close to the surface
for people to find
them. In order to get
back to the surface,
a fossil needs to be
either pushed up via
uplift or uncovered
when the rock
around it is eroded.
5: Discovery!