List of U.S. state fossils

Last updated

Map showing which states have state fossils (in blue; states without fossils are gray.) Statefossil 2016-02-02.png
Map showing which states have state fossils (in blue; states without fossils are gray.)

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.

Contents

Some states that lack an explicit state fossil have nevertheless singled out a fossil for formal designation as a state dinosaur, rock, gem or stone.

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 [1]
Alaska Pleistocene Woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius
Mammoth mg 2791.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
Stegosaurus Struct.jpg
1982
Connecticut Jurassic Dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus
Dinosaur State Park (Rocky Hill, CT) - close-up.JPG
1991
Delaware Cretaceous Belemnite Belemnitella americana
BelemniteDB2.jpg
1996
District of Columbia Cretaceous "Capitalsaurus"
(state dinosaur)
nomen nudum only
Capitalsaurus.jpg
1998
Florida Eocene Agatized coral
(state stone)
Cnidaria, Anthozoa
Fossil agatized coral Florida.JPG
1979
Georgia Cretaceous
Miocene
Shark tooth undetermined
Shark teeth in stone.jpg
1976 [2]
Idaho Pliocene Hagerman horse Equus simplicidens
Equus simplicidens mounted 02.jpg
Illinois Pennsylvanian Tully monster Tullimonstrum gregarium
Tullimonstrum.jpg
1989 [3]
Indiana Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum
Mammut americanum ROM - American Mastodon.jpg
2022 [4]
Kansas Cretaceous Pteranodon
(state flying fossil) [5]
Pteranodon longiceps
Pteranodon amnh martyniuk.jpg
2014 [6]
Cretaceous Tylosaurus
(state marine fossil) [7]
Tylosaurus kansasensis
JVBA Mosasaur 6-09-2010.jpg
2014 [8]
Kentucky Ordovician
Pennsylvanian
Brachiopod undetermined
Cincinnetina meeki (Miller, 1875) slab 3.jpg
1986 [9]
Louisiana Oligocene Petrified palmwood Palmoxylon
Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG
1976 [10]
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) [11]
Massachusetts Jurassic Dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus
Dinosaur State Park (Rocky Hill, CT) - close-up.JPG
Michigan Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum
Mammut americanum ROM - American Mastodon.jpg
2002
Mississippi Eocene "Prehistoric whale" Zygorhiza kochii
Zygorhiza kochii (early whale).jpg
1981 [12]
Missouri Pennsylvanian Sea lily Delocrinus missouriensis 1989
Montana Cretaceous Duck-billed dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum
Maiasaura peeblesorum cast - University of California Museum of Paleontology - Berkeley, CA - DSC04688.JPG
Nebraska Pleistocene Woolly mammoth
Columbian mammoth
Imperial mammoth
Mammuthus primigenius
Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus imperator
Mammoth mg 2791.jpg
Nevada Triassic Ichthyosaur [13] [14] Shonisaurus popularis
Shonisaurus BW 2.jpg
1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)
New Mexico Triassic Coelophysis Coelophysis bauri
Coelophysis mount NHM2.jpg
1981
New York Silurian Sea scorpion Eurypterus remipes
Eurypterus remipes 001.jpg
1984
North Carolina Miocene- Pliocene Shark tooth Otodus megalodon
Otodus megalodon tooth Carcharocles megalodon tooth.JPG
Otodus megalodon tooth
2013 [15]
North Dakota Paleocene Shipworm-bored
petrified wood
Teredo petrified wood
Ohio Ordovician Trilobite Isotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)
Isotelus brachycephalus.JPG
1985 [16]
Devonian Dunkleosteus Dunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)
202010 Dunkleosteus telleri.svg
2021 [17]
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus
Saurophaganax 2.jpg
2000 [18]
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia
Metasequoia branchlet 02.jpg
2005
Pennsylvania Devonian Trilobite Phacops rana
Phacops rana.jpg
1988 [19]
South Carolina Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus columbi.jpg
2014 [20]
South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus
Triceratops2.png
Tennessee Cretaceous Bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
Megatrigoniidae - Pterotrigonia caudata.JPG
Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis
Allosaurus skull SDNHM.jpg
1988 [21]
Vermont Pleistocene Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014) Delphinapterus leucas
Belugawhale MMC.jpg
1993 [22] [23]
Pleistocene Woolly mammoth
tooth and tusk
(state terrestrial fossil)
Mammuthus primigenius
Mammoth mg 2791.jpg
2014 [23] [24]
Virginia Cenozoic scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius
Chesapecten Jeffersonius Inside.jpg
1993
Washington Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi
ColumbianMammoth CollegeOfEasternUtah.jpg
1998 [25]
West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii
MegatheriumSqueletteCuvier1812.jpg
2008 [26]
Wisconsin Silurian Trilobite Calymene celebra
Calymene celebra Raymond, 1916.jpg
1985 [27]
Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia spp.
Knightia alta 01.jpg
1987

States lacking a state fossil

See also

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References

  1. "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.
  2. "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.
  3. Illinois State Symbols, Department of Natural Resources, archived from the original on February 17, 2017, retrieved May 20, 2019
  4. Indiana lawmakers name mastodon as first state fossil, WHAS-TV, Associated Press, February 19, 2022, retrieved February 21, 2022
  5. "State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society".
  6. "List of State Fossils". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. "State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society".
  8. "List of State Fossils". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  9. "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. March 30, 2007. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  10. "Louisiana State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  11. "Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell". Maryland Geological Survey. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  12. Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi (PDF), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 1991, retrieved May 9, 2019
  13. "Nevada State Fossil | Ichthyosaur". May 28, 2014.
  14. "Nevada State Fossil: Ichthyosaur (Genus Shonisaurus)".
  15. "Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark | NCpedia". ncpedia.org. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  16. "5.071 State invertebrate fossil", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021
  17. "5.078 Official fossil fish of the state", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021
  18. "Oklahoma State Fossil | Saurophaganax Maximus". statesymbolsusa.org. September 6, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  19. Official State Fossil – Phaecops rana (PDF), Pennsylvania Legislature, December 5, 1988, retrieved September 28, 2021
  20. "South Carolina Fossil". WLTX. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  21. 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
  22. Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.
  23. 1 2 "Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil". E Reference Desk. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  24. "Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865". Brattleboro History. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  25. http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
  26. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
  27. "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  28. "Giant Beaver swamps competition to be Minnesota state fossil". MPR News. October 13, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  29. "Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil". The Seattle Times. January 23, 2018.
  30. Carlson, Brady (January 6, 2015). "Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?". New Hampshire Public Radio.
  31. "Texas State Symbols". Texas State Legislature . Retrieved December 13, 2017.