List of U.S. state fossils

Last updated

Most states in the US have designated a state fossil, many during the 1980s. It is common to designate a fossilized species, rather than a single specimen or a category of fossils. State fossils are distinct from other state emblems like state dinosaurs, state stones, state minerals, state gemstones or state rocks and a state may designate one, a few, or all of those. For example, in Arizona, the state stone is turquoise and the state dinosaur is Sonorasaurus thompsoni yet the state fossil is petrified wood.

Contents

The two first states to designate a state fossil were Nebraska and North Dakota, both in 1967.

Seven states and the District of Columbia still lack an explicit state fossil:

Table of state fossils

State
federal district
or territory
Age Common name Binomial
name
ImageYear adopted
Alabama Eocene Basilosaurus whale Basilosaurus cetoides
Basilosaurus cetoides.jpg
1984 [6]
Alaska Pleistocene Woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius
Elephas primigenius 7.JPG
1986
Arizona Triassic Petrified wood Araucarioxylon arizonicum
ArizonaPetrifiedWood.jpg
1988
California Pleistocene Saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis
Smilodon fatalis, Pengo.jpg
1974
Colorado Jurassic Stegosaurus Stegosaurus armatus
Journal.pone.0138352.g001A.jpg
1982
Connecticut Jurassic Dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus
Dinosaur State Park (Rocky Hill, CT) - close-up.JPG
1991
Delaware Cretaceous Belemnite Belemnitella americana
Belemnitella americana.jpg
Georgia Cretaceous
Miocene
Shark tooth undetermined
Shark teeth in stone.jpg
1976 [7]
Idaho Pliocene Hagerman horse Equus simplicidens
Equus simplicidens mounted 02.jpg
1988 [8]
Illinois Pennsylvanian Tully monster Tullimonstrum gregarium
Tullimonstrum.jpg
1989 [9]
Indiana Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum
Mammut skeleton Museum of the Earth.jpg
2022 [10]
Kansas Cretaceous Pteranodon
(state flying fossil) [11]
Pteranodon longiceps
Pteranodon amnh martyniuk.jpg
2014 [12]
Cretaceous Tylosaurus
(state marine fossil) [11]
Tylosaurus kansasensis
JVBA Mosasaur 6-09-2010.jpg
2014 [12]
Kentucky Ordovician
Pennsylvanian
Brachiopod undetermined
Cincinnetina meeki (Miller, 1875) slab 3.jpg
1986 [13]
Louisiana Oligocene Petrified palmwood Palmoxylon
Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG
1976 [14]
Maine Devonian Pertica plant Pertica quadrifaria
Pertica quadrifaria reconstruccion.jpg
1976
Maryland Miocene Ecphora gardnerae
shell
Ecphora gardnerae
gardnerae
Ecphora gardnerae.jpg
1984 (name revised, 1994) [15]
Massachusetts Jurassic Dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus
Eubrontes giganteus (dinosaur footprint) (Longmeadown Formation, Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic; Mt. Tom Dinosaur Tracksite, Connecticut River Valley, Massachusetts, USA).jpg
1980 [16]
Michigan Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum
Mammut skeleton Museum of the Earth.jpg
2002
Mississippi Eocene "Prehistoric whale" Zygorhiza kochii
Zygorhiza kochii (early whale).jpg
1981 [17]
Missouri Pennsylvanian Sea lily Delocrinus missouriensis 1989 [18]
Montana Cretaceous Hadrosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum
Maiasaura peeblesorum cast - University of California Museum of Paleontology - Berkeley, CA - DSC04688.JPG
1985 [19]
Nebraska Pleistocene Woolly mammoth
Columbian mammoth
Imperial mammoth
Mammuthus primigenius
Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus imperator
Elephas primigenius 7.JPG
1967 [20] [21]
New Jersey Cretaceous Hadrosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii
Hadrosaurus reconstruction.jpg
1991 [22] [23]
Nevada Triassic Ichthyosaur [24] [25] Shonisaurus popularis
Shonisaurus skull.jpg
1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)
New Mexico Triassic Coelophysis Coelophysis bauri
Coelophysis mount NHM2.jpg
1981 [26] [27]
New York Silurian Sea scorpion Eurypterus remipes
Eurypterus remipes 001.jpg
1984
North Carolina Miocene- Pliocene Shark tooth Otodus megalodon
Carcharocles megalodon tooth.JPG
2013 [28]
North Dakota Paleocene Shipworm-bored
petrified wood
Teredo petrified wood
Fossil (3963430788).jpg
1967 [29] [30]
Ohio Ordovician Trilobite Isotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)
Isotelus brachycephalus.JPG
1985 [31]
Devonian Dunkleosteus Dunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)
Dunkleosteus CMNH 5768 skull.png
2021 [32]
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus
Saurophaganax 2.jpg
2000 [33]
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia
Metasequoia branchlet 02.jpg
2005
Pennsylvania Devonian Trilobite Phacops rana
Phacops rana.jpg
1988 [34]
Rhode Island Paleozoic Trilobite Genus and species not stated [35]
Phacops rana.jpg
2023 [36]
South Carolina Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus columbi Page.jpg
2014 [37]
South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus
Triceratops2.png
1988 [38]
Tennessee Cretaceous Bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
Megatrigoniidae - Pterotrigonia caudata.JPG
1998 [39]
Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis
Allosaurus skull SDNHM.jpg
1988 [40]
Vermont Pleistocene Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014) Delphinapterus leucas
Squelette Delphinapterus leucas rdl.jpg
1993 [41] [42]
Pleistocene Woolly mammoth
tooth and tusk
(state terrestrial fossil)
Mammuthus primigenius
Estonian Museum of Natural History Specimen No 177574 photo (g21 g21-2 a jpg).jpg
Dinosauria - Mammouth 01.jpg
2014 [42] [43]
Virginia Cenozoic scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius
Chesapecten Jeffersonius Inside.jpg
1993
Washington Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus columbi Page.jpg
1998 [44]
West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii
Megalonyx jeffersonii - Natural History Museum of Utah - DSC07263.JPG
2008 [45]
Wisconsin Silurian Trilobite Calymene celebra
Calymene celebra Raymond, 1916.jpg
1985 [46]
Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia spp.
Knightia alta 01.jpg
1987

See also

References

  1. "Arkansas State Fossil - Arkansaurus - While Arkansas does not officially have a state fossil it does have a state dinosaur". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  2. "Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil". The Seattle Times. January 23, 2018.
  3. "Giant Beaver swamps competition to be Minnesota state fossil". MPR News. October 13, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  4. Carlson, Brady (January 6, 2015). "Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?". New Hampshire Public Radio.
  5. "Texas State Symbols". Texas State Legislature . Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  6. "Official State of Alabama Fossil". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. August 2, 2005. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  7. "Georgia State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 30, 2014. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. The Hagerman horse at the Idaho official list of state emblems
  9. Illinois State Symbols, Department of Natural Resources, archived from the original on February 17, 2017, retrieved May 20, 2019
  10. "Indiana lawmakers name mastodon as first state fossil". WHAS-TV. Associated Press. February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society".
  12. 1 2 "List of State Fossils". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  13. "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. March 30, 2007. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  14. "Louisiana State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  15. "Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell". Maryland Geological Survey. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  16. Official state fossil of Massachusetts in "State Symbols USA"
  17. Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi (PDF), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 1991, retrieved May 9, 2019
  18. "The crinoid became Missouri’s official fossil in 1989 after a group of Lee’s Summit students worked through the legislative process to promote it as a state symbol", Missouri's Secretary of State official website
  19. "On February 22, 1985, a bill was passed unanimously, designating Maiasaura peeblesorum as Montana’s official state fossil", A to Z USA by World Trade Press
  20. USA, State Symbols (October 5, 2014). "Mammoth State Fossil | State Symbols USA". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  21. "Cenozoic fossils of Nebraska". eas2.unl.edu. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  22. "Hadrosaurus Foulkii ("Haddy") Information". Official website of the Borough of Haddonfield. Borough of Haddonfield. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  23. "The Story of New Jersey's State Fossil: Hadrosaurus foulkii". Official website of the Rutgers Geology Museum. Rutgers Geology Museum. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  24. "Nevada State Fossil | Ichthyosaur". May 28, 2014.
  25. "Nevada State Fossil: Ichthyosaur (Genus Shonisaurus)".
  26. "About New Mexico - State Fossil", New Mexico's Secretary of State official website
  27. "Coelophysis, the New Mexico State Fossil", at New Mexico Earth Matters, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources official website
  28. "Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark | NCpedia". ncpedia.org. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  29. "North Dakota State Fossil - Teredo Petrified Wood". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  30. "North Dakota State Fossil". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  31. "5.071 State invertebrate fossil", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021
  32. "5.078 Official fossil fish of the state", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021
  33. "Oklahoma State Fossil | Saurophaganax maximus". statesymbolsusa.org. September 6, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  34. Official State Fossil – Phaecops rana (PDF), Pennsylvania Legislature, December 5, 1988, retrieved September 28, 2021
  35. Rhode Island State Fossil: Trilobite - In 2022, Rhode Island designated trilobites (genus and species not stated) as the state fossil, published by Paleontological Research Institution.
  36. "2023 Rhode Island General Laws Title 42 - State Affairs and Government Chapter 42-4 - State Emblems Section 42-4-23. - State fossil". US Law, official publication. Justia.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  37. "South Carolina Fossil". WLTX. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  38. "South Dakota State Fossil - Triceratops Horridus; In 1988, the South Dakota state legislature designated the dinosaur Triceratops horridus as their state fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  39. "Tennesse State Fossil". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  40. Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus Archived January 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008
  41. Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.
  42. 1 2 "Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil". E Reference Desk. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  43. "Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865". Brattleboro History. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  44. http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
  45. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
  46. "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2011.