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 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
      Connecticut Jurassic dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus Dinosaur State Park (Rocky Hill, CT) - close-up.JPG
      Delaware Cretaceous Belemnite Belemnitella americana BelemniteDB2.jpg
      District of Columbia Cretaceous "Capitalsaurus"
      (state dinosaur)
      nomen nudum only
      Florida Eocene agatized coral
      (state stone)
      Cnidaria, Anthozoa
      Georgia Cretaceous
      Miocene
      shark tooth undetermined Shark teeth in stone.jpg
      Idaho Pliocene Hagerman horse Equus simplicidens Equus simplicidens mounted 02.jpg
      Illinois Pennsylvanian Tully Monster Tullimonstrum gregarium Tullimonstrum.jpg
      Kentucky Ordovician
      Pennsylvanian
      brachiopod undetermined Onniella.jpg 1986[2]
      Louisiana Oligocene petrified palmwood Palmoxylon Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG
      Maine Devonian Pertica plant Pertica quadrifaria
      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 Knight hadrosaurs.jpg
      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 Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus Triceratops2.png
      Tennessee Cretaceous bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
      Texas Cretaceous Pleurocoelus
      (state dinosaur 1997 - 2009)
      Pleurocoelus nanus
      Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis Allosaurus skull SDNHM.jpg 1988[3]
      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[4]
      West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii MegatheriumSqueletteCuvier1812.jpg 2008[5]
      Wisconsin Ordovician
      Silurian
      Trilobite Calymene celebra Calymene celebra.png 1985[6]
      Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia Knightia alta 01.jpg 18 February 1987
      ↑Jump back a section

      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. ^ "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-07-02. 
      3. ^ Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
      4. ^ http://www1.leg.wa.gov/Legislature/StateSymbols/ WA State Symbols
      5. ^ http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
      6. ^ "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Retrieved 2011-12-19. 
      ↑Jump back a section

      External links

      ↑Jump back a section

      Read in another language

      This page is available in 4 languages

      Last modified on 10 June 2013, at 11:29