List of U.S. state fossils explained

Most American states have made a state fossil designation, in many cases during the 1980s. It is common to designate one species in which fossilization has occurred, rather than a single specimen, or a category of fossils not limited to a single species.

Four states (Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island) lack an explicit state fossil, though Indiana's Salem Limestone is a sedimentary rock that consists of dissolved calcium from both nonbiological and biological sources (such as the accumulation of corals and shells on the seafloor) and also often contains intact fossils.__TOC__

Table of state fossils

State
federal district
or territory		AgeCommon nameBinomial
name		ImageYear adopted
AlabamaEoceneBasilosaurus whaleBasilosaurus cetoides1984[1]
AlaskaPleistoceneWoolly mammothMammuthus primigenius1986
ArizonaTriassicPetrified woodAraucarioxylon arizonicum1988
CaliforniaPleistoceneSaber-toothed catSmilodon fatalis1974
ColoradoJurassicStegosaurusStegosaurus armatus1982
ConnecticutJurassicDinosaur tracksEubrontes giganteus1991
DelawareCretaceousBelemniteBelemnitella americana1996
District of ColumbiaCretaceous"Capitalsaurus"
(state dinosaur)		nomen nudum only1998
FloridaEoceneAgatized coral
(state stone)		Cnidaria, Anthozoa1979
GeorgiaCretaceous -
Miocene		Shark toothundetermined1976[2] --->
IdahoPlioceneHagerman horseEquus simplicidens
IllinoisPennsylvanianTully monsterTullimonstrum gregarium1989--->
IndianaHoloceneAmerican mastodonMammut americanum2022
KansasCretaceousPteranodon
(state flying fossil)[3] 		Pteranodon longiceps2014[4]
CretaceousTylosaurus
(state marine fossil)[5] 		Tylosaurus kansasensis2014[6]
KentuckyOrdovician -
Pennsylvanian		Brachiopodundetermined1986[7]
LouisianaOligocenePetrified palmwoodPalmoxylon1976[8]
MaineDevonianPertica plantPertica quadrifaria1976
MarylandMioceneEcphora gardnerae
shell		Ecphora gardnerae
gardnerae		1984 (name revised, 1994)[9]
MassachusettsJurassicDinosaur tracksEubrontes giganteus
MichiganHoloceneAmerican mastodonMammut americanum2002
MississippiEocene"Prehistoric whale"Zygorhiza kochii1981
MissouriPennsylvanianSea lilyDelocrinus missouriensis1989
MontanaCretaceousDuck-billed dinosaurMaiasaura peeblesorum
NebraskaPleistoceneWoolly mammoth
Columbian mammoth
Imperial mammoth		Mammuthus primigenius
Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus imperator
NevadaTriassicIchthyosaur[10] [11] Shonisaurus popularis1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)--->
New MexicoTriassicCoelophysisCoelophysis bauri1981
New YorkSilurianSea scorpionEurypterus remipes1984
North CarolinaMiocene- PlioceneShark toothOtodus megalodon2013[12]
North DakotaPaleoceneShipworm-bored
petrified wood		Teredo petrified wood
OhioOrdovicianTrilobiteIsotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)1985
DevonianDunkleosteusDunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)2021
OklahomaJurassicSaurophaganaxSaurophaganax maximus2000[13]
OregonEoceneDawn redwoodMetasequoia2005
PennsylvaniaDevonianTrilobitePhacops rana1988---> -South CarolinaPleistoceneColumbian mammothMammuthus columbi2014[14]
South DakotaCretaceousTriceratopsTriceratops horridus
TennesseeCretaceousBivalvePterotrigonia thoracica
UtahJurassicAllosaurusAllosaurus fragilis1988[15]
VermontPleistoceneBeluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014)Delphinapterus leucas1993[16] [17]
PleistoceneWoolly mammoth
tooth and tusk
(state terrestrial fossil)		Mammuthus primigenius2014[18]
VirginiaCenozoicscallopChesapecten jeffersonius1993
WashingtonPleistoceneColumbian mammothMammuthus columbi1998[19]
West VirginiaLate PleistoceneJefferson's ground slothMegalonyx jeffersonii2008[20]
WisconsinSilurianTrilobiteCalymene celebra1985[21]
WyomingEoceneKnightiaKnightia spp.1987

States lacking a state fossil

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Official State of Alabama Fossil . March 19, 2007 . August 2, 2005 . Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors . Alabama Department of Archives & History . December 30, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071230022941/http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html . dead .
  2. Web site: March 30, 2014 . Georgia State Fossil . dead . March 30, 2014 . State Symbols, State Fossil . e-Reference Desk . March 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302030035/http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/georgia.html .
  3. Web site: State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society .
  4. Web site: List of State Fossils . September 1, 2015 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  5. Web site: State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society .
  6. Web site: List of State Fossils . September 1, 2015 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  7. Web site: Kentucky State Symbols . Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives . March 30, 2007 . July 2, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110128223448/http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm . January 28, 2011.
  8. Web site: Louisiana State Fossil . March 8, 2015 . March 8, 2015 . State Symbols, State Fossil . e-Reference Desk.
  9. Web site: Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell . Maryland Geological Survey. February 16, 2017.
  10. Web site: Nevada State Fossil | Ichthyosaur. May 28, 2014 .
  11. Web site: Nevada State Fossil: Ichthyosaur (Genus Shonisaurus).
  12. Web site: Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark NCpedia. ncpedia.org. March 17, 2016.
  13. Web site: Oklahoma State Fossil Saurophaganax Maximus. January 30, 2021. statesymbolsusa.org. September 6, 2014 .
  14. Web site: South Carolina Fossil . WLTX . May 28, 2014.
  15. http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fossil.html Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus
  16. Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.
  17. Web site: Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil. E Reference Desk. March 17, 2018.
  18. Web site: Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865. Brattleboro History. March 17, 2018.
  19. http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
  20. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
  21. Web site: Wisconsin State Symbols . State of Wisconsin . December 19, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100112222837/http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_state_symbols.html . January 12, 2010.
  22. Web site: Giant Beaver swamps competition to be Minnesota state fossil . September 15, 2022 . MPR News . October 13, 2021 . en.
  23. Web site: January 23, 2018. Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil. The Seattle Times.
  24. News: Carlson. Brady. January 6, 2015. Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?. New Hampshire Public Radio.
  25. Web site: Texas State Symbols . . December 13, 2017.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of U.S. state fossils".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.