List of U.S. state fossils

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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.

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 Age Common name Binomial
nomenclature		 Image Adoption date
Alabama Eocene Basilosaurus whale Basilosaurus cetoides Basilosaurus cetoides.jpg 1984[1]
Alaska Pleistocene Woolly Mammoth Mammuthus primigenius Mammoth mg 2791.jpg
Arizona Triassic petrified wood Araucarioxylon arizonicum ArizonaPetrifiedWood.jpg
California Pleistocene Saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis Smilodon fatalis, Pengo.jpg
Colorado Jurassic Stegosaurus Stegosaurus armatus Stegosaurus Struct.jpg 1982-04-28
Connecticut Jurassic dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus Dinosaur State Park (Rocky Hill, CT) - close-up.JPG 1991
Delaware Cretaceous Belemnite Belemnitella americana BelemniteDB2.jpg
District of Columbia Cretaceous "Capitalsaurus"
(state dinosaur)		 nomen nudum only Capitalsaurus.jpg
Florida Eocene agatized coral
(state stone)		 Cnidaria, Anthozoa
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
Kansas Cretaceous Pteranodon and Tylosaurus Pteranodon longiceps and T. kansasensis Pteranodon amnh martyniuk.jpg JVBA Mosasaur 6-09-2010.jpg 2014[3]
Kentucky Ordovician–
Pennsylvanian		 brachiopod undetermined Cincinnetina meeki (Miller, 1875) slab 3.jpg 1986[4]
Louisiana Oligocene petrified palmwood Palmoxylon Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG 1976[5]
Maine Devonian Pertica plant Pertica quadrifaria Pertica quadrifaria reconstruccion.jpg 1976
Maryland Miocene murex snail / gastropod Ecphora gardnerae
gardnerae
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 Basilosaurus
and Zygorhiza
whales		 Basilosaurus cetoides
Zygorhiza kochii
Missouri Pennsylvanian Sea lily Delocrinus missouriensis Agaricocrinus americanus Carboniferous Indiana.jpg 1989
Montana Cretaceous Duck-billed dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum Maiasaura BW.jpg
Nebraska Pleistocene Woolly Mammoth
Columbian Mammoth
Imperial Mammoth		 Mammuthus primigenius
Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus imperator
Nevada Triassic Shonisaurus Shonisaurus popularis Shonisaurus BW 2.jpg
New Jersey Cretaceous duck-billed dinosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii 240px
New Mexico Triassic Coelophysis Coelophysis bauri Coelophysis mount NHM2.jpg
New York Silurian sea scorpion Eurypterus remipes Eurypterus remipes 001.jpg 1984
North Dakota Paleocene shipworm-bored
petrified wood		 Teredo petrified wood
Ohio Ordovician trilobite Isotelus maximus Isotelus brachycephalus.JPG 1985
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus Saurophaganax.JPG
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia
glyptostroboides		 Metasequoia branchlet 03.jpg 2005
Pennsylvania Devonian trilobite Phacops rana Phacops rana.jpg 1988
South Carolina Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi Mammuthus columbi.jpg 2014[6]
South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus Triceratops2.png
Tennessee Cretaceous bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
Texas Cretaceous Paluxysaurus
Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis Allosaurus skull SDNHM.jpg 1988[7]
Vermont Pleistocene Beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas Belugawhale MMC.jpg 1993
Virginia Caenozoic scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius Chesapecten Jeffersonius Inside.jpg 1993
Washington Pleistocene Columbian Mammoth Mammuthus columbi ColumbianMammoth CollegeOfEasternUtah.jpg 1998[8]
West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii MegatheriumSqueletteCuvier1812.jpg 2008[9]
Wisconsin Ordovician–
Silurian		 Trilobite Calymene celebra Calymene celebra.png 1985[10]
Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia Knightia alta 01.jpg 18 February 1987

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
  8. ↑ http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
  9. ↑ http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • [1] List of U.S. state fossils, from National Park Service.


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