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 federal district or territory	Age	Common name	Binomial nomenclature	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	1996-07-02
District of Columbia	Cretaceous	"Capitalsaurus" (state dinosaur)	nomen nudum only	1998
Florida	Eocene	Agatized coral (state stone)	Cnidaria, Anthozoa	1979
Georgia	Cretaceous– Miocene	Shark tooth	undetermined	1976^[2]
Idaho	Pliocene	Hagerman horse	Equus simplicidens
Illinois	Pennsylvanian	Tully monster	Tullimonstrum gregarium	1989^[3]
Kansas	Cretaceous	Pteranodon (state flying fossil) and Tylosaurus (state marine fossil)^[4]	Pteranodon longiceps and T. kansasensis	2014^[5]
Kentucky	Ordovician– Pennsylvanian	Brachiopod	undetermined	1986^[6]
Louisiana	Oligocene	Petrified palmwood	Palmoxylon	1976^[7]
Maine	Devonian	Pertica plant	Pertica quadrifaria	1976
Maryland	Miocene	Ecphora gardnerae shell	Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae	1984 (name revised, 1994)^[8]
Massachusetts	Jurassic	Dinosaur tracks	Eubrontes giganteus
Michigan	Holocene	American mastodon	Mammut americanum	2002
Mississippi	Eocene	Basilosaurus and Zygorhiza whales	Basilosaurus cetoides Zygorhiza kochii	1981^[9]
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	Ichthyosaur^[10]^[11]	Shonisaurus popularis	1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)
New Jersey	Cretaceous	Duck-billed dinosaur	Hadrosaurus foulkii
New Mexico	Triassic	Coelophysis	Coelophysis bauri	1981
New York	Silurian	Sea scorpion	Eurypterus remipes	1984
North Carolina	Miocene- Pliocene	Shark tooth	Carcharocles megalodon	2013^[12]
North Dakota	Paleocene	Shipworm-bored petrified wood	Teredo petrified wood
Ohio	Ordovician	Trilobite	Isotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)	1985^[13]
Ohio	Devonian	Dunkleosteus	Dunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)	2021^[14]
Oklahoma	Jurassic	Saurophaganax	Saurophaganax maximus	2000^[15]
Oregon	Eocene	Dawn redwood	Metasequoia glyptostroboides	2005
Pennsylvania	Devonian	Trilobite	Phacops rana	1988
South Carolina	Pleistocene	Columbian mammoth	Mammuthus columbi	2014^[16]
South Dakota	Cretaceous	Triceratops	Triceratops horridus
Tennessee	Cretaceous	Bivalve	Pterotrigonia thoracica
Utah	Jurassic	Allosaurus	Allosaurus fragilis (Utahraptor ostrommaysorum is the state dinosaur of Utah as of 2018)	1988^[17]
Vermont	Pleistocene	Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014)	Delphinapterus leucas	1993^[18]^[19]
Vermont	Pleistocene	Woolly mammoth tooth and tusk (state terrestrial fossil)	Mammuthus primigenius	2014^[19]^[20]
Virginia	Cenozoic	scallop	Chesapecten jeffersonius	1993
Washington	Pleistocene	Columbian mammoth	Mammuthus columbi	1998^[21]
West Virginia	Late Pleistocene	Jefferson's ground sloth	Megalonyx jeffersonii	2008^[22]
Wisconsin	Silurian	Trilobite	Calymene celebra	1985^[23]
Wyoming	Eocene	Knightia	Knightia spp.	February 18, 1987

Candidate or considered fossils[]

For fossils that were candidates or were considered for states.

State federal district or territory	Age	Common name	Binomial nomenclature	Image	Adoption date

States lacking a state fossil[]

Hawaii
Indiana
- Elegantocrinus hemisphaericus^[24]^[25]
Iowa
- Crinoid^[26]
Minnesota
- Giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis)^[27]
- Brachiopod (Rynchotrema)
- Bison occidentalis
- Trilobite^[27]
New Hampshire
- American mastodon (Mammut americanum)^[28]
Rhode Island

References[]

^ "Official State of Alabama Fossil". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. August 2, 2005. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
^ "Georgia State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
^ Illinois State Symbols, Department of Natural Resources, retrieved May 20, 2019
^ https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/state-fossils/18626
^ "List of State Fossils". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
^ "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. March 30, 2007. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
^ "Louisiana State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
^ "Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell". Maryland Geological Survey. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
^ Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi (PDF), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 1991, retrieved May 9, 2019
^ https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nevada/state-dinosaur-fossil/ichthyosaur
^ http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/nevada.html
^ "Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark | NCpedia". ncpedia.org. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
^ "5.071 State invertebrate fossil", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021
^ "5.078 Official fossil fish of the state", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021
^ "Oklahoma State Fossil | Saurophaganax Maximus". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
^ "South Carolina Fossil". WLTX. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
^ Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008
^ Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil". E Reference Desk. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
^ "Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865". Brattleboro History. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
^ http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
^ http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
^ "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
^ "Indiana State Fossil". 500 Earth Sciences CLub. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
^ Polly, D., 2012. Crinoids from Cambrian to Crawfordsville. 500 Earth Sciences Lecture Series.
^ "Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil". The Seattle Times. January 23, 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Minnesota State Symbols—Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious". Minnesota Legislature.
^ Carlson, Brady (January 6, 2015). "Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?". New Hampshire Public Radio.

External links[]

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

[1] "Official State of Alabama Fossil". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. August 2, 2005. Retrieved March 19, 2007.

[2] "Georgia State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.

[3] Illinois State Symbols, Department of Natural Resources, retrieved May 20, 2019

[4] ttps://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/state-fossils/18626

[5] "List of State Fossils". State Symbols, State Fossil. Fossilera. Retrieved September 1, 2015.

[6] "Kentucky State Symbols". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. March 30, 2007. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2007.

[7] "Louisiana State Fossil". State Symbols, State Fossil. e-Reference Desk. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.

[8] "Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell". Maryland Geological Survey. Retrieved February 16, 2017.

[9] Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi (PDF), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 1991, retrieved May 9, 2019

[10] ttps://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nevada/state-dinosaur-fossil/ichthyosaur

[11] ttp://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/nevada.html

[12] "Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark | NCpedia". ncpedia.org. Retrieved March 17, 2016.

[13] "5.071 State invertebrate fossil", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021

[14] "5.078 Official fossil fish of the state", Ohio Revised Code, retrieved February 9, 2021

[15] "Oklahoma State Fossil | Saurophaganax Maximus". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

[16] "South Carolina Fossil". WLTX. Retrieved May 28, 2014.

[17] Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008

[18] Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.

[vt-19] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil". E Reference Desk. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

[bratt-20] "Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865". Brattleboro History. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

[21] ttp://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols

[22] ttp://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law

[23] "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2011.

[24] "Indiana State Fossil". 500 Earth Sciences CLub. Retrieved March 10, 2021.

[25] Polly, D., 2012. Crinoids from Cambrian to Crawfordsville. 500 Earth Sciences Lecture Series.

[26] "Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil". The Seattle Times. January 23, 2018.

[:0-27] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Minnesota State Symbols—Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious". Minnesota Legislature.

[28] Carlson, Brady (January 6, 2015). "Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?". New Hampshire Public Radio.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

show v t U.S. state symbols by state
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands
State, district, and territorial insignia United States national symbols

show v t United States state-related lists
List of states and territories of the United States
Demographics	Population African American Amish Asian Birth and death rates Density Hispanic and Latino Historical Household income LGBT Non-Hispanic white Pacific Islander Spanish-speaking Educational attainment Largest cities by population Median age Most popular given names Most populous counties Net migration Populated places Population density (cities) Religiosity Irreligion
Economy	Billionaires Budgets Companies Credit ratings Employment rates Exports and imports Federal tax revenue Federal taxation and spending Gross domestic product Growth rate Per capita Income Inequality Median home prices Median wages Millionaire households Minimum wages Poverty rates R&D spending Sales taxes Sovereign wealth funds State income taxes Unemployment rates Union affiliation Vehicles per capita
Environment	Botanical gardens Carbon dioxide emissions Parks National Natural Landmarks National Wildlife Refuges Nature centers Renewable energy Superfund sites Wilderness areas
Geography	Area Bays Beaches Coastline Elevation Extreme points Forest Geographic centers Highest cities Islands Lakes Mountains Regions Volcanoes
Government	Agriculture commissioners Attorneys general Capitals Capitol buildings Comparison Congressional districts Members Counties Alphabetical List Courts Governors Lieutenant governors Legislatures Libraries and archives Official languages Poets laureate Politics by state or territory Political party strength State auditors State legislators Alabama–Missouri Montana–Wyoming State senators State secretaries of state State Speakers State Chief Justices State President Pro Tempore State superintendents of education State supreme courts State treasurers Statewide elected executive officials
Health	Fertility rates Hospitals Human Development Index American Human Development Index Life expectancy Infant mortality rates Obesity rates
History	Date of statehood Name etymologies Historical societies Museums National Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places State partitions Historic regions
Law	Abortion Age of consent Alcohol Dry communities Alford plea Cell phone use while driving Constitutions Firearms Gun Violence Homicide Rate Law enforcement agencies Legality of cannabis Peace Index Prisons Incarceration rate Same-sex unions Former constitutional bans Marriage law Seat belt laws Self-representation Smoking bans Speed limits (by jurisdiction) Statutory codes Violent Crime Rate
Miscellaneous	Abbreviations Airports Bus transit systems Casinos Demonyms Fictional states Flags Hotels Insignia Coats of arms License plates Malls Mottos Newspapers Nicknames Numbered highways Quarters 50 states District of Columbia and territories America the Beautiful quarters Snowiest places Symbols Tallest buildings Temperature extremes Time zones
Category Commons Portals