List of U.S. state fossils facts for kids

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

Many states in the United States have chosen a special fossil to represent them. This fossil is called a state fossil. Most states picked their state fossil in the 1980s. Usually, they choose a type of animal or plant that turned into a fossil, not just one specific fossil piece.

Even if a state doesn't have an official "state fossil," it might have picked a state dinosaur, or a special rock, gem, or stone that is also a fossil.

Discovering State Fossils: A Complete List

This table shows the different state fossils chosen by various U.S. states, federal districts, and territories. It includes information like when the fossil lived and its scientific name.

State or Territory	When it lived	Common Name	Scientific Name	Image	Year Adopted
Alabama	Eocene	Basilosaurus whale	Basilosaurus cetoides		1984
Alaska	Pleistocene	Woolly mammoth	Mammuthus primigenius		1986
Arizona	Triassic	Petrified wood	Araucarioxylon arizonicum		1988
California	Pleistocene	Saber-toothed cat	Smilodon fatalis		1974
Colorado	Jurassic	Stegosaurus	Stegosaurus armatus		1982
Connecticut	Jurassic	Dinosaur tracks	Eubrontes giganteus		1991
Delaware	Cretaceous	Belemnite	Belemnitella americana		1996
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
Idaho	Pliocene	Hagerman horse	Equus simplicidens
Illinois	Pennsylvanian	Tully monster	Tullimonstrum gregarium		1989
Indiana	Holocene	American mastodon	Mammut americanum		2022
Kansas	Cretaceous	Pteranodon (state flying fossil)	Pteranodon longiceps		2014
	Cretaceous	Tylosaurus (state marine fossil)	Tylosaurus kansasensis		2014
Kentucky	Ordovician– Pennsylvanian	Brachiopod	undetermined		1986
Louisiana	Oligocene	Petrified palmwood	Palmoxylon		1976
Maine	Devonian	Pertica plant	Pertica quadrifaria		1976
Maryland	Miocene	Ecphora gardnerae shell	Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae		1984 (name revised, 1994)
Massachusetts	Jurassic	Dinosaur tracks	Eubrontes giganteus
Michigan	Holocene	American mastodon	Mammut americanum		2002
Mississippi	Eocene	"Prehistoric whale"	Zygorhiza kochii		1981
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	Shonisaurus popularis		1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)
New Mexico	Triassic	Coelophysis	Coelophysis bauri		1981
New York	Silurian	Sea scorpion	Eurypterus remipes		1984
North Carolina	Miocene- Pliocene	Shark tooth	Otodus megalodon	Otodus megalodon tooth	2013
North Dakota	Paleocene	Shipworm-bored petrified wood	Teredo petrified wood
Ohio	Ordovician	Trilobite	Isotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate)		1985
	Devonian	Dunkleosteus	Dunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)		2021
Oklahoma	Jurassic	Saurophaganax	Saurophaganax maximus		2000
Oregon	Eocene	Dawn redwood	Metasequoia		2005
Pennsylvania	Devonian	Trilobite	Phacops rana		1988
South Carolina	Pleistocene	Columbian mammoth	Mammuthus columbi		2014
South Dakota	Cretaceous	Triceratops	Triceratops horridus
Tennessee	Cretaceous	Bivalve	Pterotrigonia thoracica
Utah	Jurassic	Allosaurus	Allosaurus fragilis		1988
Vermont	Pleistocene	Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014)	Delphinapterus leucas		1993
	Pleistocene	Woolly mammoth tooth and tusk (state terrestrial fossil)	Mammuthus primigenius		2014
Virginia	Cenozoic	scallop	Chesapecten jeffersonius		1993
Washington	Pleistocene	Columbian mammoth	Mammuthus columbi		1998
West Virginia	Late Pleistocene	Jefferson's ground sloth	Megalonyx jeffersonii		2008
Wisconsin	Silurian	Trilobite	Calymene celebra		1985
Wyoming	Eocene	Knightia	Knightia spp.		1987

States Without a State Fossil

Some states have not yet chosen an official state fossil. Here are a few:

• Arkansas
• Hawaii
• Minnesota
  • The giant beaver was suggested in 2022.
• Iowa
  • The crinoid was suggested in 2018.
• New Jersey
• New Hampshire
  • The American mastodon (Mammut americanum) was thought about in 2015.
• Rhode Island
• Texas
  • Texas has a state dinosaur, which is Sauroposeidon proteles.

See also

• List of U.S. state dinosaurs
• List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, and gemstones
• Lists of U.S. state insignia