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List of U.S. state fossils facts for kids

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

Most American states have a state fossil. Many times these were selected in the 1980s.

Some states do not have a state fossil.

List of state fossils

State Period Common name Binomial
nomenclature
Image Adoption date
Alabama Eocene Basilosaurus (early whale) Basilosaurus cetoides Basilosaurus cetoides.jpg 1984
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)
unused name
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 Cincinnetina meeki (Miller, 1875) slab 3.jpg 1986
Louisiana Oligocene petrified palmwood Palmoxylon Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG
Maine Devonian Pertica plant Pertica quadrifaria
Maryland Miocene Murex gastropod Ecphora gardnerae Ecphora gardnerae.jpg
Massachusetts Jurassic Dinosaur tracks undetermined
Michigan Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum Mammut americanum ROM - American Mastodon.jpg 2002
Mississippi Eocene Basilosaurus
and Zygorhiza
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 Eurypterus remipes 001.jpg 1984
North Dakota Palaeocene shipworm-bored
petrified wood
Teredo petrified wood
Ohio Ordovician Trilobite Isotelus Isotelus brachycephalus.JPG 1985
Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus Saurophaganax.JPG
Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides Metasequoia branchlet 03.jpg 2005
Pennsylvania Devonian Trilobite Phacops rana Phacops rana.jpg 1988
South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus Triceratops2.png
Tennessee Cretaceous Bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica
Texas Cretaceous Pleurocoelus Pleurocoelus nanus
Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis Allosaurus skull SDNHM.jpg 1988
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
West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii MegatheriumSqueletteCuvier1812.jpg 2008
Wisconsin Ordovician
Silurian
Trilobite Calymene celebra Calymene celebra.png 1985
Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia Knightia alta 01.jpg 18 February 1987

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List of U.S. state fossils Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.