Date: Eocene Epoch (56-34 million years old)

Description: Knightia were bony fish that belonged to the same family as modern sardines. They lived in the freshwater lakes and rivers and are most commonly found farther west in freshwater areas of the Rocky Mountains. However they can still be found in the Siouxland area, as by the Paleogene Period (which the Eocene Epoch is part of) the seas receded and freshwater sources came into the region. These sources allowed for all kinds of new species of plants and animals to live in this region, including species of knightia. Knightia fossils are incredibly common all over North America, and it is also the state fossil of Wyoming.

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