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List of U.S. state fossils

  • ️Tue Aug 02 2005

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.

List of State Fossils

State Age Common name Binomial
nomenclature		 Image Year &
Citation
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 undetermined
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 Eurypterusremipes2.gif 1984
North Dakota Paleocene shipworm-bored
petrified wood		 Teredo petrified wood
Ohio Ordovician trilobite Isotelus maximus 1985
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus Saurophaganax.JPG
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia
occidentalis		 Metasequoia branchlet 03.jpg 2005
Pennsylvania Devonian trilobite Phacops rana PhacopsRana.png 1988
South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus Triceratops2.png
Tennessee Cretaceous bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
Texas Cretaceous Pleurocoelus
(state dinosaur)		 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 1985
Wyoming Eocene Knightia herring Knightia Knightia alta 01.jpg 1987

See also

References

  1. ^ "Official State of Alabama Fossil". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. 2005-08-02. http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  2. ^ "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. 2007-03-30. http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm. 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

External links

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