List of U.S. state fossils explained

Most states in the US have designated a state fossil, many during the 1980s. It is common to designate a fossilized species, rather than a single specimen or a category of fossils. State fossils are distinct from other state emblems like state dinosaurs, state stones, state minerals, state gemstones or state rocks and a state may designate one, a few, or all of those. For example, in Arizona, the state stone is turquoise and the state dinosaur is Sonorasaurus thompsoni yet the state fossil is petrified wood.

The two first states to designate a state fossil were Nebraska and North Dakota, both in 1967.

Seven states and the District of Columbia still lack an explicit state fossil:

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Table of state fossils

State
federal district
or territory		AgeCommon nameBinomial
name		ImageYear adopted
AlabamaEoceneBasilosaurus whaleBasilosaurus cetoides1984[6]
AlaskaPleistoceneWoolly mammothMammuthus primigenius1986
ArizonaTriassicPetrified woodAraucarioxylon arizonicum1988
CaliforniaPleistoceneSaber-toothed catSmilodon fatalis1974
ColoradoJurassicStegosaurusStegosaurus armatus1982
ConnecticutJurassicDinosaur tracksEubrontes giganteus1991
DelawareCretaceousBelemniteBelemnitella americana1996
GeorgiaCretaceous -
Miocene		Shark toothundetermined1976[7] --->
IdahoPlioceneHagerman horseEquus simplicidens1988[8]
IllinoisPennsylvanianTully monsterTullimonstrum gregarium1989--->
IndianaHoloceneAmerican mastodonMammut americanum2022[9]
KansasCretaceousPteranodon
(state flying fossil)[10] 		Pteranodon longiceps2014[11]
CretaceousTylosaurus
(state marine fossil)[12] 		Tylosaurus kansasensis2014[13]
KentuckyOrdovician -
Pennsylvanian		Brachiopodundetermined1986[14]
LouisianaOligocenePetrified palmwoodPalmoxylon1976[15]
MaineDevonianPertica plantPertica quadrifaria1976
MarylandMioceneEcphora gardnerae
shell		Ecphora gardnerae
gardnerae		1984 (name revised, 1994)[16]
MassachusettsJurassicDinosaur tracksEubrontes giganteus1980[17]
MichiganHoloceneAmerican mastodonMammut americanum2002
MississippiEocene"Prehistoric whale"Zygorhiza kochii1981
MissouriPennsylvanianSea lilyDelocrinus missouriensis1989[18]
MontanaCretaceousHadrosaurMaiasaura peeblesorum1985[19]
NebraskaPleistoceneWoolly mammoth
Columbian mammoth
Imperial mammoth		Mammuthus primigenius
Mammuthus columbi
Mammuthus imperator		1967[20] [21]
New JerseyCretaceousHadrosaurHadrosaurus foulkii1991[22] [23]
NevadaTriassicIchthyosaur[24] [25] Shonisaurus popularis1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)--->
New MexicoTriassicCoelophysisCoelophysis bauri1981[26] [27]
New YorkSilurianSea scorpionEurypterus remipes1984
North CarolinaMiocene- PlioceneShark toothOtodus megalodon2013[28]
North DakotaPaleoceneShipworm-bored
petrified wood		Teredo petrified wood1967[29] [30]
OhioOrdovicianTrilobiteIsotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)1985
DevonianDunkleosteusDunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)2021
OklahomaJurassicSaurophaganaxSaurophaganax maximus2000[31]
OregonEoceneDawn redwoodMetasequoia2005
PennsylvaniaDevonianTrilobitePhacops rana1988
Rhode IslandPaleozoicTrilobiteGenus and species not stated[32] 2023[33]
South CarolinaPleistoceneColumbian mammothMammuthus columbi2014[34]
South DakotaCretaceousTriceratopsTriceratops horridus1988[35]
TennesseeCretaceousBivalvePterotrigonia thoracica1998[36]
UtahJurassicAllosaurusAllosaurus fragilis1988[37]
VermontPleistoceneBeluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014)Delphinapterus leucas1993[38] [39]
PleistoceneWoolly mammoth
tooth and tusk
(state terrestrial fossil)		Mammuthus primigenius2014[40]
VirginiaCenozoicscallopChesapecten jeffersonius1993
WashingtonPleistoceneColumbian mammothMammuthus columbi1998[41]
West VirginiaLate PleistoceneJefferson's ground slothMegalonyx jeffersonii2008[42]
WisconsinSilurianTrilobiteCalymene celebra1985[43]
WyomingEoceneKnightiaKnightia spp.1987

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arkansas State Fossil - Arkansaurus - While Arkansas does not officially have a state fossil it does have a state dinosaur . August 31, 2024 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  2. Web site: January 23, 2018. Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil. The Seattle Times.
  3. Web site: Giant Beaver swamps competition to be Minnesota state fossil . September 15, 2022 . MPR News . October 13, 2021 . en.
  4. News: Carlson. Brady. January 6, 2015. Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?. New Hampshire Public Radio.
  5. Web site: Texas State Symbols . . December 13, 2017.
  6. Web site: Official State of Alabama Fossil . March 19, 2007 . August 2, 2005 . Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors . Alabama Department of Archives & History . December 30, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071230022941/http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html . dead .
  7. Web site: March 30, 2014 . Georgia State Fossil . dead . March 30, 2014 . State Symbols, State Fossil . e-Reference Desk . March 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302030035/http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/georgia.html .
  8. https://sos.idaho.gov/state-emblems/ The Hagerman horse at the Idaho official list of state emblems
  9. News: Indiana lawmakers name mastodon as first state fossil . . WHAS-TV. February 19, 2022 . February 21, 2022.
  10. Web site: State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society .
  11. Web site: List of State Fossils . September 1, 2015 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  12. Web site: State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society .
  13. Web site: List of State Fossils . September 1, 2015 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  14. Web site: Kentucky State Symbols . Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives . March 30, 2007 . July 2, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110128223448/http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm . January 28, 2011.
  15. Web site: Louisiana State Fossil . March 8, 2015 . March 8, 2015 . State Symbols, State Fossil . e-Reference Desk.
  16. Web site: Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell . Maryland Geological Survey. February 16, 2017.
  17. https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/massachusetts/state-dinosaur-fossil/dinosaur-tracks Official state fossil of Massachusetts in "State Symbols USA"
  18. "The crinoid became Missouri’s official fossil in 1989 after a group of Lee’s Summit students worked through the legislative process to promote it as a state symbol", Missouri's Secretary of State official website
  19. " On February 22, 1985, a bill was passed unanimously, designating Maiasaura peeblesorum as Montana’s official state fossil", A to Z USA by World Trade Press
  20. Web site: USA . State Symbols . 2014-10-05 . Mammoth State Fossil State Symbols USA . 2024-10-11 . statesymbolsusa.org . en.
  21. Web site: Cenozoic fossils of Nebraska . 2024-10-11 . eas2.unl.edu.
  22. Web site: Hadrosaurus Foulkii ("Haddy") Information . August 30, 2024 . Official website of the Borough of Haddonfield . Borough of Haddonfield .
  23. Web site: The Story of New Jersey’s State Fossil: Hadrosaurus foulkii . August 30, 2024 . Official website of the Rutgers Geology Museum . Rutgers Geology Museum .
  24. Web site: Nevada State Fossil | Ichthyosaur. May 28, 2014 .
  25. Web site: Nevada State Fossil: Ichthyosaur (Genus Shonisaurus).
  26. "About New Mexico - State Fossil", New Mexico's Secretary of State official website
  27. "Coelophysis, the New Mexico State Fossil", at New Mexico Earth Matters, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources official website
  28. Web site: Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark NCpedia. ncpedia.org. March 17, 2016.
  29. Web site: North Dakota State Fossil - Teredo Petrified Wood . August 31, 2024 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  30. Web site: North Dakota State Fossil . August 31, 2024 . statesymbolsusa.org.
  31. Web site: Oklahoma State Fossil Saurophaganax Maximus. January 30, 2021. statesymbolsusa.org. September 6, 2014 .
  32. https://earthathome.org/hoe/us-earth-science-quick-facts/ri/ Rhode Island State Fossil: Trilobite - In 2022, Rhode Island designated trilobites (genus and species not stated) as the state fossil
  33. Web site: 2023 Rhode Island General Laws Title 42 - State Affairs and Government Chapter 42-4 - State Emblems Section 42-4-23. - State fossil. . August 30, 2024 . US Law, official publication . Justia.com .
  34. Web site: South Carolina Fossil . WLTX . May 28, 2014.
  35. Web site: South Dakota State Fossil - Triceratops Horridus ; In 1988, the South Dakota state legislature designated the dinosaur Triceratops horridus as their state fossil . August 31, 2024 . State Symbols, State Fossil . Fossilera.
  36. Web site: Tennesse State Fossil . August 31, 2024. statesymbolsusa.org.
  37. http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fossil.html Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus
  38. Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.
  39. Web site: Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil. E Reference Desk. March 17, 2018.
  40. Web site: Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865. Brattleboro History. March 17, 2018.
  41. http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
  42. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
  43. Web site: Wisconsin State Symbols . State of Wisconsin . December 19, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100112222837/http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_state_symbols.html . January 12, 2010.

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