List of U.S. state fossils

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 1984[1]
Alaska Pleistocene Woolly Mammoth Mammuthus primigenius
Arizona Triassic petrified wood Araucarioxylon arizonicum
California Pleistocene Saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis
Colorado Jurassic Stegosaurus Stegosaurus armatus 1982-04-28
Connecticut Jurassic dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus 1991
Delaware Cretaceous Belemnite Belemnitella americana
District of Columbia Cretaceous "Capitalsaurus"
(state dinosaur)		 nomen nudum only
Florida Eocene agatized coral
(state stone)		 Cnidaria, Anthozoa
Georgia Cretaceous–
Miocene		 shark tooth undetermined 1976[2]
Idaho Pliocene Hagerman horse Equus simplicidens
Illinois Pennsylvanian Tully Monster Tullimonstrum gregarium
Kansas Cretaceous Pteranodon and Tylosaurus Pteranodon longiceps and T. kansasensis 2014[3]
Kentucky Ordovician–
Pennsylvanian		 brachiopod undetermined 1986[4]
Louisiana Oligocene petrified palmwood Palmoxylon 1976[5]
Maine Devonian Pertica plant Pertica quadrifaria 1976
Maryland Miocene murex snail / gastropod Ecphora gardnerae
gardnerae
Massachusetts Jurassic dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus
Michigan Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum 2002
Mississippi Eocene Basilosaurus
and Zygorhiza
whales		 Basilosaurus cetoides
Zygorhiza kochii
Missouri Pennsylvanian Sea lily Delocrinus missouriensis 1989
Montana Cretaceous Duck-billed dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum
Nebraska Pleistocene Woolly Mammoth
Columbian Mammoth
Imperial Mammoth		 Mammuthus primigenius
Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus imperator
Nevada Triassic Shonisaurus Shonisaurus popularis
New Jersey Cretaceous duck-billed dinosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii
New Mexico Triassic Coelophysis Coelophysis bauri
New York Silurian sea scorpion Eurypterus remipes 1984
North Dakota Paleocene shipworm-bored
petrified wood		 Teredo petrified wood
Ohio Ordovician trilobite Isotelus maximus 1985
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia
glyptostroboides		 2005
Pennsylvania Devonian trilobite Phacops rana 1988
South Carolina Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi 2014[6]
South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus
Tennessee Cretaceous bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
Texas Cretaceous Paluxysaurus
Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis 1988[7]
Vermont Pleistocene Beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas 1993
Virginia Caenozoic scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius 1993
Washington Pleistocene Columbian Mammoth Mammuthus columbi 1998[8]
West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii 2008[9]
Wisconsin Ordovician–
Silurian		 Trilobite Calymene celebra 1985[10]
Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia 18 February 1987

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Official State of Alabama Fossil". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. 2005-08-02. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  2. ↑ "Georgia State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. 2014-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  3. ↑ "List of State Fossils". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  4. ↑ "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  5. ↑ "Louisiana State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. 2015-03-08. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  6. ↑ "South Carolina Fossil". WLTX. Retrieved 2014-05-1928. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  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. ↑ "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

External links

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