Paleontology in Ohio refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Ohio. Ohio is well known for having a great quantity and diversity of fossils preserved in its rocks. The state's fossil record begins early in the Paleozoic era, during the Cambrian period. Ohio was generally covered by seawater from that time on through the rest of the early Paleozoic. Local invertebrates included brachiopods, cephalopods, coral, graptolites, and trilobites. Vertebrates included bony fishes and sharks. The first land plants in the state grew during the Devonian. During the Carboniferous, Ohio became a more terrestrial environment with an increased diversity of plants that formed expansive swampy deltas. Amphibians and reptiles began to inhabit the state at this time, and remained present into the ensuing Permian. A gap in the local rock record spans from this point until the start of the Pleistocene. During the Ice Age, Ohio was home to giant beavers, humans, mammoths, and mastodons. Paleo-Indians collected fossils that were later incorporated into their mounds. Ohio has been the birthplace of many world famous paleontologists, like Charles Schuchert. Many significant fossils curated by museums in Europe and the United States were found in Ohio. [1] Major local fossil discoveries include the 1965 discovery of more than 50,000 Devonian fish fossils in Cuyahoga County. The Ordovician trilobite Isotelus maximus is the Ohio state invertebrate fossil.
No Precambrian fossils are known from Ohio, so the state's fossils record does not start until the Cambrian Period. [2] During the later part of the period, Ohio was covered in seawater and located 10 degrees south of the equator. By the end of the Cambrian the sea was shallow and the climate dry. Although marine life was diverse during the Cambrian little is known about Ohio's Cambrian inhabitants because the only specimens known were found in core samples. [2]
During the Ordovician Ohio was covered in a warm shallow sea that was deepest in the eastern half of the state. The environment was reminiscent of the modern Bahamas. Ohio was twenty degrees south of the equator at the time. Islands sometimes rose above sea level in western Ohio. Later on during the Ordovician the sea got deeper and spread across the state's entirety, but the seas gradually withdrew. Bryozoans are common Ohio fossils of Ordovician age. Others include brachiopods, cephalopods, trilobites, horn corals, snails, clams, echinoderms, and graptolites. [2]
Ohio was dry land during the Early Silurian. Later warm shallow seas returned to Ohio. Ohio was 20 degrees south of the equator. The seas got deeper in the middle Silurian. [2] The northern and eastern areas of the state were inundated by deeper waters than the rest of the state. Between the two depths a reef system composed of corals and sponges formed. The state was also home to brachiopods and echinoderms, [3] During the late Silurian the seas got shallower again. Other fossils included echinoderms, clams, brachiopods, and cephalopods. [2]
During the early Devonian only eastern Ohio was still covered by the sea. Ohio was located near the equator. Brachiopods and echinoderms still remained in the area during the Early Devonian. [3] By the middle Devonian the seas had expanded across the state once more. Sharks and bony fishes appeared in the Middle Devonian, such as the armoured fish known as the placoderms, like the giant apex predator Dunkleosteus . True land plants also appeared around this time. As the Devonian passed on the sea's circulation weakened and its oxygen levels dropped, leading to a state described as the "'stinking seas'". [4] Few organisms lived in these low oxygen conditions. [3] Nevertheless, overall Devonian Ohio had a rich fauna including coral reefs, bryozoans, brachiopods, trilobites, cephalopods, clams, crinoids, ostracodes. [4]
The rock record of the early Mississippian in Ohio demonstrates the presence of deltas and bodies of flowing water. During the late Mississippian Ohio was covered by a shallow sea. Near the end of the Mississippian the seas withdrew from the state. Ohio was located near the equator. The fossil record of Ohio includes greater numbers of land plants, brachiopods, clams, crinoids, fishes. [4]
Ohio was a low-lying swampy plain near the coast during the Pennsylvanian. Its latitude was near the equator. Sea levels rose and fell sporadically so the rock record shows a history of land, freshwater, and sea deposits. Fossils of land plants are common in Ohio's Pennsylvanian rocks. Amphibians, reptiles, and freshwater clam fossils are also known from the time. The marine life of Ohio included crinoids, snails, cephalopods, brachiopods, and fishes. Trilobites were also present, but their fossils are rare. [4]
By the Permian period the sea had left completely. Local bodies of water were then lakes and rivers rather than saltwater. [3] Southeastern Ohio was a swamp-covered coastal plain. [4] Ferns and horsetails were among the state's rich flora. [3] Ohio was only about 5 degrees north of the equator. Sand and mud deposited on local river deltas gradually filled in the swamp. Later in the Permian Ohio was subjected to geologic uplift and its sediments were eroded away. Permian fossils aren't especially common in Ohio, but include snails, clams, fishes, plants, amphibians, and reptiles. Marine fossils from this period are rare. [4]
From about 248 to 1.6 million years ago Ohio was above sea level, so its rocks were eroded away rather than deposited. Dinosaurs probably lived in Ohio but there is no fossil record of their presence. [4] The ensuing Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era is also missing from the local rock record. [3] However, during the Quaternary period Ohio was worked over by glacial activity. A mile thick glacier was positioned over the area now occupied by Cleveland during the early part of this period. [3] About two thirds of Ohio was covered by such glaciers. Entire Pleistocene forests buried by the action of glaciers have been discovered in Ohio. [5] Around this time Ohio was inhabited by giant beavers, mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths and more modern animals, including humans. [4]
Fossil tusks collected by native people more than 2,000 years ago have been discovered interred in the state's mounds. [6] In 1748, a French military officer named Fabri wrote a letter to Georges Cuvier, mentioning that the local natives attribute the region's fossil bones to a creature called the grandfather of the buffalo. [7]
One of the most significant early fossil finds in Ohio was made between 1837 and 1838. John Locke collected the tail of a new species of trilobite that he named Isotelus maximus while mapping the geology of southwestern Ohio. [8] A related discovery occurred in 1919. While excavating an outlet tunnel for the Mad River's Huffman Dam, workers discovered a giant specimen of Isotelus. The specimen was 14 1/2 inches long and 10 1/4 inches wide. [9]
In Spring, 1965 a major discovery of Devonian fossils occurred in Cuyahoga County. A collaboration between the state Highway Department, Ohio Bureau of Public Roads and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History led by the Smithsonian's David Dunkle uncovered as many as 50,000 fish fossils from a construction site, including giant species like Dunkleosteus and Titanichthys . By the ensuing November 120 or more different species had been found there, with half previously unknown to science. [10]
Later, two elementary school teachers and their students catalyzed the process of getting Isotelus recognized as Ohio's state fossil. Doris Swabb of Beavertown School in Kettering took her third grade students to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (then Dayton Museum of Natural History). Virginia Evers likewise took her fourth grade class from St. Anthony School to the museum. After seeing a cast of the Huffman Dam Isotelus, they got the idea to get the specimen recognized as Ohio's official state fossil. The students sent letters to Robert L. Corbin and Robert E. Hickey, members of the Ohio House of Representatives. Both Representatives agreed to sponsor legislation making the designation official. Senator Charles F. Horn agreed to introduce legislation for the same purpose in the Ohio Senate. [11]
Newspapers and television gave extensive coverage to the proposal for making Isotelus the Ohio state fossils. Many local geological groups came forward in support of the idea. The Ohio Division of Geological Survey provided technical assistance for the drafting of the bill itself, which designated Isotelus generally for the state fossils rather than the individual specimen discovered during the Huffman Dam excavations. Very little opposition to the bill was raised in either legislative body. [11] On June 20, 1985 Ohio House Bill 145 declared the trilobite genus Isotelus to be Ohio's state invertebrate fossil. [12]
Fossils of many types of water-dwelling animals from the Devonian period are found in deposits in the U.S. state of Michigan. Among the more commonly occurring specimens are bryozoans, corals, crinoids, and brachiopods. Also found, but not so commonly, are armored fish called placoderms, snails, sharks, stromatolites, trilobites and blastoids.
Paleontology in Michigan refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Michigan. During the Precambrian, the Upper Peninsula was home to filamentous algae. The remains it left behind are among the oldest known fossils in the world. During the early part of the Paleozoic Michigan was covered by a shallow tropical sea which was home to a rich invertebrate fauna including brachiopods, corals, crinoids, and trilobites. Primitive armored fishes and sharks were also present. Swamps covered the state during the Carboniferous. There are little to no sedimentary deposits in the state for an interval spanning from the Permian to the end of the Neogene. Deposition resumed as glaciers transformed the state's landscape during the Pleistocene. Michigan was home to large mammals like mammoths and mastodons at that time. The Holocene American mastodon, Mammut americanum, is the Michigan state fossil. The Petoskey stone, which is made of fossil coral, is the state stone of Michigan.
Paleontology in Kentucky refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Kentucky.
Paleontology in Indiana refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Indiana. Indiana's fossil record stretches back to the Precambrian, when the state was inhabited by microbes. More complex organisms came to inhabit the state during the early Paleozoic era. At that time the state was covered by a warm shallow sea that would come to be inhabited by creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, cephalopods, crinoids, and trilobites. During the Silurian period the state was home to significant reef systems. Indiana became a more terrestrial environment during the Carboniferous, as an expansive river system formed richly vegetated deltas where amphibians lived. There is a gap in the local rock record from the Permian through the Mesozoic. Likewise, little is known about the early to middle Cenozoic era. During the Ice Age however, the state was subject to glacial activity, and home to creatures like short-faced bears, camels, mammoths, and mastodons. After humans came to inhabit the state, Native Americans interpreted the fossil proboscidean remains preserved near Devil's Lake as the bones of water monsters. After the advent of formal scientific investigation one paleontological survey determined that the state was home to nearly 150 different kinds of prehistoric plants.
Paleontology in Illinois refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Illinois. Scientists have found that Illinois was covered by a sea during the Paleozoic Era. Over time this sea was inhabited by animals including brachiopods, clams, corals, crinoids, sea snails, sponges, and trilobites.
Paleontology in Virginia refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Virginia. The geologic column in Virginia spans from the Cambrian to the Quaternary. During the early part of the Paleozoic, Virginia was covered by a warm shallow sea. This sea would come to be inhabited by creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, and nautiloids. The state was briefly out of the sea during the Ordovician, but by the Silurian it was once again submerged. During this second period of inundation the state was home to brachiopods, trilobites and entire reef systems. During the mid-to-late Carboniferous the state gradually became a swampy environment.
Paleontology in Tennessee refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Tennessee. During the early part of the Paleozoic era, Tennessee was covered by a warm, shallow sea. This sea was home to brachiopods, bryozoans, cephalopods, corals, and trilobites. Tennessee is one of the best sources of Early Devonian fossils in North America. During the mid-to-late Carboniferous, the state became a swampy environment, home to a rich variety of plants including ferns and scale trees. A gap in the local rock record spans from the Permian through the Jurassic. During the Cretaceous, the western part of the state was submerged by seawater. The local waters were home to more fossil gastropods than are known from anywhere else in the world. Mosasaurs and sea turtles also inhabited these waters. On land the state was home to dinosaurs. Western Tennessee was still under the sea during the early part of the Cenozoic. Terrestrial portions of the state were swampy. Climate cooled until the Ice Age, when the state was home to Camelops, horses, mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths. The local Yuchi people told myths of giant lizard monsters that may have been inspired by fossils either local or encountered elsewhere. In 1920, after local fossils became a subject of formal scientific study, a significant discovery of a variety of Pleistocene creatures was made near Nashville. The Cretaceous bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica is the Tennessee state fossil.
Paleontology in New Jersey refers to paleontological research in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The state is especially rich in marine deposits.
Paleontology in New York refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of New York. New York has a very rich fossil record, especially from the Devonian. However, a gap in this record spans most of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic.
Paleontology in Vermont comprises paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Vermont. Fossils are generally uncommon in Vermont. Nevertheless, however, significant finds have been made in the state. Very few fossils are known in Vermont east of the Green Mountains due to the type of rock underlying that area. During the early part of the Paleozoic era, Vermont was covered by a warm, shallow sea that would end up being home to creatures like brachiopods, corals, crinoids, ostracoderms, and trilobites. There are no rocks in the state from the Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, or Jurassic periods. The few Cretaceous rocks present contain no fossils. The Paleogene and Neogene periods are also absent from the local rock record. During the Ice Age, glaciers scoured the state. At times the state was inundated by seawater, allowing marine mammals to venture in. After the seawater drained away the state was home to mastodons. Local fossils had already attracted scientific attention by the mid-19th century when mastodon remains were found in Rutland County. In 1950 a major Paleozoic invertebrate find occurred. The Pleistocene Beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas is the Vermont state fossil.
Paleontology in Wisconsin refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The state has fossils from the Precambrian, much of the Paleozoic, some parts of the Mesozoic and the later part of the Cenozoic. Most of the Paleozoic rocks are marine in origin. Because of the thick blanket of Pleistocene glacial sediment that covers the rock strata in most of the state, Wisconsin’s fossil record is relatively sparse. In spite of this, certain Wisconsin paleontological occurrences provide exceptional insights concerning the history and diversity of life on Earth.
Paleontology in Missouri refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Missouri. The geologic column of Missouri spans all of geologic history from the Precambrian to present with the exception of the Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic. Brachiopods are probably the most common fossils in Missouri.
Paleontology in Minnesota refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Minnesota. The geologic record of Minnesota spans from Precambrian to recent with the exceptions of major gaps including the Silurian period, the interval from the Middle to Upper Devonian to the Cretaceous, and the Cenozoic. During the Precambrian, Minnesota was covered by an ocean where local bacteria ended up forming banded iron formations and stromatolites. During the early part of the Paleozoic era southern Minnesota was covered by a shallow tropical sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, massive cephalopods, corals, crinoids, graptolites, and trilobites. The sea withdrew from the state during the Silurian, but returned during the Devonian. However, the rest of the Paleozoic is missing from the local rock record. The Triassic is also missing from the local rock record and Jurassic deposits, while present, lack fossils. Another sea entered the state during the Cretaceous period, this one inhabited by creatures like ammonites and sawfish. Duckbilled dinosaurs roamed the land. The Paleogene and Neogene periods of the ensuing Cenozoic era are also missing from the local rock record, but during the Ice Age evidence points to glacial activity in the state. Woolly mammoths, mastodons, and musk oxen inhabited Minnesota at the time. Local Native Americans interpreted such remains as the bones of the water monster Unktehi. They also told myths about thunder birds that may have been based on Ice Age bird fossils. By the early 19th century, the state's fossil had already attracted the attention of formally trained scientists. Early research included the Cretaceous plant discoveries made by Leo Lesquereux.
Paleontology in Oklahoma refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a rich fossil record spanning all three eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Oklahoma is the best source of Pennsylvanian fossils in the United States due to having an exceptionally complete geologic record of the epoch. From the Cambrian to the Devonian, all of Oklahoma was covered by a sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, graptolites and trilobites. During the Carboniferous, an expanse of coastal deltaic swamps formed in areas of the state where early tetrapods would leave behind footprints that would later fossilize. The sea withdrew altogether during the Permian period. Oklahoma was home a variety of insects as well as early amphibians and reptiles. Oklahoma stayed dry for most of the Mesozoic. During the Late Triassic, carnivorous dinosaurs left behind footprints that would later fossilize. During the Cretaceous, however, the state was mostly covered by the Western Interior Seaway, which was home to huge ammonites and other marine invertebrates. During the Cenozoic, Oklahoma became home to creatures like bison, camels, creodonts, and horses. During the Ice Age, the state was home to mammoths and mastodons. Local Native Americans are known to have used fossils for medicinal purposes. The Jurassic dinosaur Saurophaganax maximus is the Oklahoma state fossil.
Paleontology in Texas refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Texas. Author Marian Murray has said that "Texas is as big for fossils as it is for everything else." Some of the most important fossil finds in United States history have come from Texas. Fossils can be found throughout most of the state. The fossil record of Texas spans almost the entire geologic column from Precambrian to Pleistocene. Shark teeth are probably the state's most common fossil. During the early Paleozoic era Texas was covered by a sea that would later be home to creatures like brachiopods, cephalopods, graptolites, and trilobites. Little is known about the state's Devonian and early Carboniferous life. Evidence indicates that during the late Carboniferous the state was home to marine life, land plants and early reptiles. During the Permian, the seas largely shrank away, but nevertheless coral reefs formed in the state. The rest of Texas was a coastal plain inhabited by early relatives of mammals like Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. During the Triassic, a great river system formed in the state that was inhabited by crocodile-like phytosaurs. Little is known about Jurassic Texas, but there are fossil aquatic invertebrates of this age like ammonites in the state. During the Early Cretaceous local large sauropods and theropods left a great abundance of footprints. Later in the Cretaceous, the state was covered by the Western Interior Seaway and home to creatures like mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and few icthyosaurs. Early Cenozoic Texas still contained areas covered in seawater where invertebrates and sharks lived. On land the state would come to be home to creatures like glyptodonts, mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, titanotheres, uintatheres, and dire wolves. Archaeological evidence suggests that local Native Americans knew about local fossils. Formally trained scientists were already investigating the state's fossils by the late 1800s. In 1938, a major dinosaur footprint find occurred near Glen Rose. Pleurocoelus was the Texas state dinosaur from 1997 to 2009, when it was replaced by Sauroposeidon after the Texan fossils once referred to the former species were reclassified to a new genus.
Paleontology in New Mexico refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of New Mexico. The fossil record of New Mexico is exceptionally complete and spans almost the entire stratigraphic column. More than 3,300 different kinds of fossil organisms have been found in the state. More than 700 of these were new to science and more than 100 of those were type species for new genera. During the early Paleozoic, southern and western New Mexico were submerged by a warm shallow sea that would come to be home to creatures including brachiopods, bryozoans, cartilaginous fishes, corals, graptolites, nautiloids, placoderms, and trilobites. During the Ordovician the state was home to algal reefs up to 300 feet high. During the Carboniferous, a richly vegetated island chain emerged from the local sea. Coral reefs formed in the state's seas while terrestrial regions of the state dried and were home to sand dunes. Local wildlife included Edaphosaurus, Ophiacodon, and Sphenacodon.
Paleontology in Utah refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Utah. Utah has a rich fossil record spanning almost all of the geologic column. During the Precambrian, the area of northeastern Utah now occupied by the Uinta Mountains was a shallow sea which was home to simple microorganisms. During the early Paleozoic Utah was still largely covered in seawater. The state's Paleozoic seas would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, fishes, and trilobites. During the Permian the state came to resemble the Sahara desert and was home to amphibians, early relatives of mammals, and reptiles. During the Triassic about half of the state was covered by a sea home to creatures like the cephalopod Meekoceras, while dinosaurs whose footprints would later fossilize roamed the forests on land. Sand dunes returned during the Early Jurassic. During the Cretaceous the state was covered by the sea for the last time. The sea gave way to a complex of lakes during the Cenozoic era. Later, these lakes dissipated and the state was home to short-faced bears, bison, musk oxen, saber teeth, and giant ground sloths. Local Native Americans devised myths to explain fossils. Formally trained scientists have been aware of local fossils since at least the late 19th century. Major local finds include the bonebeds of Dinosaur National Monument. The Jurassic dinosaur Allosaurus fragilis is the Utah state fossil.
The geological history of North America comprises the history of geological occurrences and emergence of life in North America during the interval of time spanning from the formation of the Earth through to the emergence of humanity and the start of prehistory. At the start of the Paleozoic Era, what is now "North" America was actually in the Southern Hemisphere. Marine life flourished in the country's many seas, although terrestrial life had not yet evolved. During the latter part of the Paleozoic, seas were largely replaced by swamps home to amphibians and early reptiles. When the continents had assembled into Pangaea, drier conditions prevailed. The evolutionary precursors to mammals dominated the country until a mass extinction event ended their reign.
The Verulam Formation is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte in Ontario, Canada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Katian stage of the Ordovician period, or Shermanian to Chatfieldian in the regional stratigraphy.
The Maysville roadcut, located in northeastern Kentucky, features upper Ordovician rock and fossils. Maysville is located in Mason County, Kentucky, and contains a large roadcut along U.S. Route 68. The cut was human-made in the 1950s and consists of rock that is roughly 450 million years old. Maysville provides an opportunity to observe the stratigraphy of the formations present of the Ordovician time period.