List of U.S. state fossils

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:

Arkansas: still no state fossil in Arkansas, though the state designated Arkansaurus as its state dinosaur.{{cite web | url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/arkansas-state-fossil-arkansaurus | title= Arkansas State Fossil - Arkansaurus - While Arkansas does not officially have a state fossil it does have a state dinosaur | access-date= August 31, 2024 | work= State Symbols, State Fossil | publisher= Fossilera}}
District of Columbia: Capitalsaurus is the state dinosaur of Washington D.C., but the District has not chosen a state fossil.
Florida: There is no state fossil in Florida, though agatised coral, which is a fossil, is the state stone.
Hawaii
Iowa: The crinoid was proposed in 2018.{{Cite web|date=January 23, 2018|title=Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/iowa-to-consider-recognizing-official-state-fossil/|website=The Seattle Times}}
Minnesota: The giant beaver was proposed in 2022.{{Cite web |title=Giant Beaver swamps competition to be Minnesota state fossil |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/10/13/giant-beaver-swamps-competition-to-be-minnesota-state-fossil |access-date=September 15, 2022 |website=MPR News |date=October 13, 2021}}
New Hampshire: The American mastodon (Mammut americanum) was considered in 2015.{{Cite news|last=Carlson|first=Brady|date=January 6, 2015|title=Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?|work=New Hampshire Public Radio|url=https://www.nhpr.org/post/granite-geek-will-mastodon-become-new-hampshires-official-state-fossil#stream/0}}
Texas: There is no state fossil though the state dinosaur is Sauroposeidon proteles.{{Cite web |url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/symbols.html |title=Texas State Symbols |publisher=Texas State Legislature |access-date=December 13, 2017}}

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Table of state fossils

class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"
bgcolor="#CCCCCC" ! State federal district or territory ! Age ! Common name ! Binomial name ! Image ! Year adopted
Alabama	Eocene	Basilosaurus whale	Basilosaurus cetoides	File:Basilosaurus cetoides.jpg	1984{{cite web \| url= http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html \| title= Official State of Alabama Fossil \| access-date= March 19, 2007 \| date= August 2, 2005 \| work= Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors \| publisher= Alabama Department of Archives & History \| archive-date= December 30, 2007 \| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071230022941/http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html \| url-status= dead}}
Alaska	Pleistocene	Woolly mammoth	Mammuthus primigenius	File:Elephas primigenius 7.JPG	1986
Arizona	Triassic	Petrified wood	Araucarioxylon arizonicum	File:ArizonaPetrifiedWood.jpg	1988
California	Pleistocene	Saber-toothed cat	Smilodon fatalis	File:Smilodon fatalis, Pengo.jpg	1974
Colorado	Jurassic	Stegosaurus	Stegosaurus armatus	File:Journal.pone.0138352.g001A.jpg	1982
Connecticut	Jurassic	Dinosaur tracks	Eubrontes giganteus	File:Dinosaur State Park (Rocky Hill, CT) - close-up.JPG	1991
Delaware	Cretaceous	Belemnite	Belemnitella americana	File:Belemnitella americana.jpg
Georgia	Cretaceous– Miocene	Shark tooth	undetermined	File:Shark teeth in stone.jpg	1976{{cite web \|date=March 30, 2014 \|title=Georgia State Fossil \|url=http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/georgia.html \|url-status=dead \|access-date=March 30, 2014 \|work=State Symbols, State Fossil \|publisher=e-Reference Desk \|archive-date=March 2, 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302030035/http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/georgia.html}}
Idaho	Pliocene	Hagerman horse	Equus simplicidens	File:Equus simplicidens mounted 02.jpg	1988[https://sos.idaho.gov/state-emblems/ The Hagerman horse at the Idaho official list of state emblems]
Illinois	Pennsylvanian	Tully monster	Tullimonstrum gregarium	File:Tullimonstrum.jpg	1989{{citation \|title= Illinois State Symbols \|publisher= Department of Natural Resources \|url= https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/Pages/ILStateSymbols.aspx \|access-date= May 20, 2019 \|archive-date= February 17, 2017 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170217031752/https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/Pages/ILStateSymbols.aspx \|url-status= dead}}
Indiana	Holocene	American mastodon	Mammut americanum	File:Mammut skeleton Museum of the Earth.jpg	2022{{cite news \|title= Indiana lawmakers name mastodon as first state fossil \|agency=Associated Press \|publisher= WHAS-TV\|url=https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/indiana/mastodons-indiana-first-official-fossil/417-cd2d6a5f-6a90-4fd2-a182-3d2bf1175f1f \|date=February 19, 2022 \|access-date=February 21, 2022}}
rowspan="2" \| Kansas	Cretaceous	Pteranodon (state flying fossil){{cite web \| url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/state-fossils/18626 \| title=State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society}}	Pteranodon longiceps	File:Pteranodon_amnh_martyniuk.jpg	2014{{cite web \| url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/state-fossils#kansas \| title= List of State Fossils \| access-date= September 1, 2015 \| work= State Symbols, State Fossil \| publisher= Fossilera}}
\| Cretaceous	Tylosaurus (state marine fossil)	Tylosaurus kansasensis	File:JVBA_Mosasaur_6-09-2010.jpg	2014
Kentucky	Ordovician– Pennsylvanian	Brachiopod	undetermined	File:Cincinnetina meeki (Miller, 1875) slab 3.jpg	1986{{cite web\|url=http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm \|title=Kentucky State Symbols \|publisher=Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives \|date=March 30, 2007 \|access-date=July 2, 2007 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128223448/http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm \|archive-date=January 28, 2011}}
Louisiana	Oligocene	Petrified palmwood	Palmoxylon	File:Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG	1976{{cite web \| url= http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/louisiana.html \| title = Louisiana State Fossil \| access-date= March 8, 2015 \| date= March 8, 2015 \| work= State Symbols, State Fossil \| publisher= e-Reference Desk}}
Maine	Devonian	Pertica plant	Pertica quadrifaria	File:Pertica quadrifaria reconstruccion.jpg	1976
Maryland	Miocene	Ecphora gardnerae shell	Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae	File:Ecphora gardnerae.jpg	1984 (name revised, 1994){{cite web \| title=Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell \|url=http://www.mgs.md.gov/geology/fossils/maryland_state_fossil_shell_fs.html\|publisher=Maryland Geological Survey\|access-date=February 16, 2017}}
Massachusetts	Jurassic	Dinosaur tracks	Eubrontes giganteus	File:Eubrontes giganteus (dinosaur footprint) (Longmeadown Formation, Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic; Mt. Tom Dinosaur Tracksite, Connecticut River Valley, Massachusetts, USA).jpg	1980[https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/massachusetts/state-dinosaur-fossil/dinosaur-tracks Official state fossil of Massachusetts in "State Symbols USA"]
Michigan	Holocene	American mastodon	Mammut americanum	File:Mammut skeleton Museum of the Earth.jpg	2002
Mississippi	Eocene	"Prehistoric whale"	Zygorhiza kochii	File:Zygorhiza kochii (early whale).jpg	1981{{Citation \|title= Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi \|number=Pamphlet 3 \|publisher=Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality \|date=1991 \|url= https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Pamphlet-3.pdf \|access-date=May 9, 2019}}
Missouri	Pennsylvanian	Sea lily	Delocrinus missouriensis		1989"[https://s1.sos.mo.gov/symbol/fossil 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
Montana	Cretaceous	Hadrosaur	Maiasaura peeblesorum	File:Maiasaura peeblesorum cast - University of California Museum of Paleontology - Berkeley, CA - DSC04688.JPG	1985"[https://www.atoztheusa.com/montana/state-fossil.html 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
Nebraska	Pleistocene	Woolly mammoth Columbian mammoth Imperial mammoth	Mammuthus primigenius Mammuthus columbi Mammuthus imperator	File:Elephas primigenius 7.JPG	1967{{Cite web \|last=USA \|first=State Symbols \|date=2014-10-05 \|title=Mammoth State Fossil {{!}} State Symbols USA \|url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nebraska/state-dinosaur-fossil/mammoth \|access-date=2024-10-11 \|website=statesymbolsusa.org}}{{Cite web \|title=Cenozoic fossils of Nebraska \|url=https://eas2.unl.edu/~tfrank/History%20on%20the%20Rocks/Nebraska%20Geology/Cenozoic/cenozoic%20web/5/Flora%20and%20Fauna.html \|access-date=2024-10-11 \|website=eas2.unl.edu}}
New Jersey	Cretaceous	Hadrosaur	Hadrosaurus foulkii	File:Hadrosaurus_reconstruction.jpg	1991{{cite web \| url= https://www.haddonfieldnj.org/information/about_our_town/hadrosaurus_foulkii_(_haddy_)_information/index.php \| title= Hadrosaurus Foulkii ("Haddy") Information \| access-date= August 30, 2024 \| date= \| work= Official website of the Borough of Haddonfield \| publisher= Borough of Haddonfield}}{{cite web \| url= https://geologymuseum.rutgers.edu/about-us-geology-museum/mastodon-musings/mastodon-musings/255-the-story-of-new-jersey-s-state-fossil-hadrosaurus-foulkii \| title= The Story of New Jersey’s State Fossil: Hadrosaurus foulkii \| access-date= August 30, 2024 \| date= \| work= Official website of the Rutgers Geology Museum \| publisher= Rutgers Geology Museum}}
Nevada	Triassic	Ichthyosaur{{Cite web\|url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nevada/state-dinosaur-fossil/ichthyosaur\|title = Nevada State Fossil \| Ichthyosaur\| date=May 28, 2014}}{{Cite web\|url=http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/nevada.html\|title = Nevada State Fossil: Ichthyosaur (Genus Shonisaurus)}}	Shonisaurus popularis	File:Shonisaurus skull.jpg	1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)
New Mexico	Triassic	Coelophysis	Coelophysis bauri	File:Coelophysis mount NHM2.jpg	1981"[https://s1.sos.mo.gov/symbol/fossil About New Mexico - State Fossil]", New Mexico's Secretary of State official website"[https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/earthmatters/17/n2/em_v17_n2.pdf Coelophysis, the New Mexico State Fossil]", at New Mexico Earth Matters, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources official website
New York	Silurian	Sea scorpion	Eurypterus remipes	File:Eurypterus remipes 001.jpg	1984
North Carolina \|Miocene- Pliocene \|Shark tooth \|Otodus megalodon \|File:Carcharocles megalodon tooth.JPG \|2013{{Cite web\|url=http://ncpedia.org/symbols/fossil\|title=Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark {{!}} NCpedia\|website=ncpedia.org\|access-date=March 17, 2016}}
North Dakota	Paleocene	Shipworm-bored petrified wood	Teredo petrified wood \|File:Fossil (3963430788).jpg	1967{{cite web \|title=North Dakota State Fossil - Teredo Petrified Wood \|url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/north-dakota-state-fossil-teredo-petrified-wood \|access-date=August 31, 2024 \|work=State Symbols, State Fossil \|publisher=Fossilera}}{{Cite web \|date= \|title=North Dakota State Fossil \|url=https://www.statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/north-dakota/state-dinosaur-fossil/teredo-petrified-wood \|access-date=August 31, 2024 \|website=statesymbolsusa.org}}
rowspan="2" \| Ohio	Ordovician	Trilobite	Isotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)	File:Isotelus brachycephalus.JPG	1985{{Citation\|title=5.071 State invertebrate fossil\|work=Ohio Revised Code\|url=https://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp5.071\|access-date= February 9, 2021}}
Devonian \|Dunkleosteus \|Dunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish) \|File:Dunkleosteus CMNH 5768 skull.png \|2021{{Citation\|title=5.078 Official fossil fish of the state\|work=Ohio Revised Code\|url=https://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp5.078\|access-date= February 9, 2021}}
Oklahoma	Jurassic	Saurophaganax	Saurophaganax maximus	File:Saurophaganax 2.jpg	2000{{Cite web\|title=Oklahoma State Fossil {{!}} Saurophaganax maximus\|url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/oklahoma/state-dinosaur-fossil/saurophaganax-maximus\|access-date=January 30, 2021\|website=statesymbolsusa.org\|date=September 6, 2014}}
Oregon	Eocene	Dawn redwood	Metasequoia	File:Metasequoia branchlet 02.jpg	2005
Pennsylvania	Devonian	Trilobite	Phacops rana	File:Phacops rana.jpg	1988{{citation \|title= Official State Fossil – Phaecops rana \|date = December 5, 1988 \|publisher= Pennsylvania Legislature \|url= https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/PDF/1988/0/0138..PDF \|access-date= September 28, 2021}}
Rhode Island	Paleozoic	Trilobite	Genus and species not stated[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], published by Paleontological Research Institution.	File:Phacops rana.jpg	2023{{cite web \| url= https://law.justia.com/codes/rhode-island/title-42/chapter-42-4/section-42-4-23/ \| title= 2023 Rhode Island General Laws Title 42 - State Affairs and Government Chapter 42-4 - State Emblems Section 42-4-23. - State fossil. \| access-date= August 30, 2024 \| date= \| work= US Law, official publication \| publisher= Justia.com}}
South Carolina	Pleistocene	Columbian mammoth	Mammuthus columbi	File:Mammuthus columbi Page.jpg	2014{{cite web \| title = South Carolina Fossil \| publisher = WLTX \| url = http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/05/27/fossil-bill-opposition-state-sc-signed/9645971/\| access-date =May 28, 2014}}
South Dakota	Cretaceous	Triceratops	Triceratops horridus	File:Triceratops2.png	1988{{cite web \| url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/south-dakota-state-fossil-triceratops-horridus \| title= South Dakota State Fossil - Triceratops Horridus; In 1988, the South Dakota state legislature designated the dinosaur Triceratops horridus as their state fossil \| access-date= August 31, 2024 \| work= State Symbols, State Fossil \| publisher= Fossilera}}
Tennessee	Cretaceous	Bivalve	Pterotrigonia thoracica	File:Megatrigoniidae - Pterotrigonia caudata.JPG	1998{{Cite web\|title=Tennessee State Fossil \|url=https://www.statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/tennessee/state-dinosaur-fossil/pterotrigonia\|access-date=August 31, 2024\|website=statesymbolsusa.org\|date=}}
Utah	Jurassic	Allosaurus	Allosaurus fragilis	File:Allosaurus skull SDNHM.jpg	1988[http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fossil.html Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108021254/http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fossil.html \|date=January 8, 2010}} from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008
rowspan="2" \| Vermont	Pleistocene	Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014)	Delphinapterus leucas	File:Squelette Delphinapterus leucas rdl.jpg	1993Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.{{cite web\|title=Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil\|url=http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/vermont-terrestrial.html\|website=E Reference Desk\|access-date=March 17, 2018}}
\| Pleistocene	Woolly mammoth tooth and tusk (state terrestrial fossil)	Mammuthus primigenius	File:Estonian Museum of Natural History Specimen No 177574 photo (g21 g21-2 a jpg).jpg File:Dinosauria - Mammouth 01.jpg	2014{{cite web\|title=Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865\|url=http://brattleborohistory.com/antiques-fossils/mammoth-tusk-discovered-nearby-western-avenue.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909211648/http://brattleborohistory.com/antiques-fossils/mammoth-tusk-discovered-nearby-western-avenue.html\|url-status=usurped\|archive-date=September 9, 2013\|website=Brattleboro History\|access-date=March 17, 2018}}
Virginia	Pliocene	scallop	Chesapecten jeffersonius	File:Chesapecten Jeffersonius Inside.jpg	1993
Washington	Pleistocene	Columbian mammoth	Mammuthus columbi	File:Mammuthus columbi Page.jpg	1998http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
West Virginia	Late Pleistocene	Jefferson's ground sloth	Megalonyx jeffersonii	File:Megalonyx jeffersonii - Natural History Museum of Utah - DSC07263.JPG	2008http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
Wisconsin	Silurian	Trilobite	Calymene celebra	File:Calymene celebra Raymond, 1916.jpg	1985{{cite web\|title=Wisconsin State Symbols \|publisher=State of Wisconsin \|url=http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_state_symbols.html \|access-date=December 19, 2011 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112222837/http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_state_symbols.html \|archive-date=January 12, 2010}}
Wyoming	Eocene	Knightia	Knightia spp.	File:Knightia alta 01.jpg	1987

References

External links

[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/official-state-fossils.htm List of U.S. state fossils, from National Park Service]

List of U.S. state fossils

Table of state fossils

See also

References

External links