List of U.S. state fossils

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.

Map showing which states have state fossils (in blue; states without fossils are gray.)

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		 Image 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 1985
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus 2000[13]
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia
glyptostroboides		 2005
Pennsylvania Devonian Trilobite Phacops rana 1988
South Carolina Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi 2014[14]
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[15]
Vermont Pleistocene Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014) Delphinapterus leucas 1993[16][17]
Pleistocene Woolly mammoth
tooth and tusk
(state terrestrial fossil)		 Mammuthus primigenius 2014[17][18]
Virginia Cenozoic scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius 1993
Washington Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi 1998[19]
West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii 2008[20]
Wisconsin Silurian Trilobite Calymene celebra 1985[21]
Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia spp. February 18, 1987

See also

References
  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. https://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. https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nevada/state-dinosaur-fossil/ichthyosaur
  11. http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/nevada.html
  12. "Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark | NCpedia". ncpedia.org. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  13. "Oklahoma State Fossil | Saurophaganax Maximus". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  14. "South Carolina Fossil". WLTX. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  15. Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008
  16. Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.
  17. "Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil". E Reference Desk. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  18. "Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865". Brattleboro History. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  19. http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols
  20. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law
  21. "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  • List of U.S. state fossils, from National Park Service.

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