List of the prehistoric life of Nebraska facts for kids

The prehistoric life of Nebraska includes many amazing creatures and plants whose fossils have been found in the state. These fossils tell us about the ancient environments and the incredible animals and plants that once lived here, long before humans existed.

Ancient Life in Nebraska: The Paleozoic Era

The Paleozoic Era was a time when Nebraska was often covered by shallow seas. This means many of the fossils found from this period are of sea creatures! Imagine Nebraska as a warm, tropical ocean.

Sea Creatures of the Paleozoic

During this era, many different types of marine animals thrived. You might find fossils of ancient fish, sharks, and creatures related to modern-day squid and crabs. Some of these animals were quite unique!

• Ancient Fish and Sharks: Nebraska was home to early sharks like †Ctenacanthus and †Orthacanthus. These weren't exactly like modern sharks, but they were powerful predators of their time. Other interesting fish-like creatures included †Belantsea and †Iniopteryx, which were relatives of modern chimaeras (a type of cartilaginous fish).
• Shells and Corals: The seas were also filled with creatures that built shells or lived in colonies, like corals. You might find fossils of ancient corals such as †Favosites and †Halysites, which formed large reefs. There were also shelled creatures like †Metacoceras, an ancient nautiloid, and sea snails like †Platyceras.
• Other Invertebrates: Many other small sea creatures left their mark, including various types of crinoids (sometimes called "sea lilies"), brachiopods (shelled animals that look a bit like clams), and crustaceans like †Peachocaris.

Dinosaurs and More: The Mesozoic Era

The Mesozoic Era is often called the "Age of Dinosaurs," but in Nebraska, much of this period was still covered by water. This means we find more marine reptiles and ancient sea life than land-dwelling dinosaurs.

Life in the Mesozoic Seas

• Giant Sea Reptiles: One of the most famous marine reptiles found in Nebraska is †Mosasaurus. These were huge, powerful predators that swam the ancient seas, similar to giant lizards with flippers. Another large marine reptile was †Styxosaurus, a type of plesiosaur with a long neck and four flippers.
• Ammonites and Clams: The seas were also home to many shelled creatures. †Collignoniceras and †Didymoceras were types of ammonites, which were ancient relatives of squid and octopuses with coiled shells. Large clams like †Inoceramus and †Mytiloides were also common.
• Ancient Plants: Even though much of Nebraska was underwater, some plant fossils have been found, showing what the ancient plant life might have looked like. These include various types of ancient ferns and flowering plants.

Mammoths and More: The Cenozoic Era

The Cenozoic Era is the "Age of Mammals," and Nebraska has a rich fossil record from this time, showing a wide variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, and plants. This is when Nebraska started to look more like the land we know today, with grasslands and forests.

Mammals of the Cenozoic

• Giant Mammals: Nebraska was home to enormous mammals like the †Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth), a giant elephant relative, and †Stegomastodon, another type of ancient elephant. There were also giant ground sloths like †Megalonyx.
• Ancient Horses and Camels: Many different types of horses lived in Nebraska, including †Equus simplicidens, an early horse, and †Hipparion. Ancient camels like †Aepycamelus (the "giraffe-camel" with a very long neck) and †Camelops also roamed the plains.
• Predators and Prey: The landscape was filled with predators like the saber-toothed cat †Smilodon and the giant short-faced bear †Arctodus. Early dogs like †Borophagus and †Canis dirus (dire wolf) also hunted here. Their prey included ancient deer relatives like †Cranioceras and †Synthetoceras, which had unique horn-like structures.
• Rhinoceroses and Other Hoofed Animals: Rhinoceroses like †Teleoceras and †Menoceras were common. There were also pig-like animals such as †Dinohyus (a giant "hell pig") and †Platygonus (a peccary).
• Smaller Mammals: Many smaller mammals, including ancient beavers like †Palaeocastor (which dug spiral burrows!), gophers like †Ceratogaulus (the horned gopher), and various rodents and shrews, also lived in Nebraska.

Birds, Reptiles, and Amphibians

• Birds: Fossils of various birds have been found, including ancient cranes and eagles.
• Reptiles: Snakes like †Pituophis (gopher snakes) and turtles like †Chrysemys (painted turtles) and †Apalone (softshell turtles) were present. Large tortoises like †Hesperotestudo also lived here.
• Amphibians: Ancient frogs and salamanders, similar to modern species, have been identified from their fossil remains.

Ancient Plants of the Cenozoic

The plant life in Nebraska during the Cenozoic Era included trees like oaks (Quercus), maples (Acer), and willows (Salix), as well as grasses and other flowering plants. These plants formed the ancient forests and grasslands that supported the diverse animal life.

Images for kids

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  Restoration of the Carboniferous Chimaera relative Belantsea

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  Fossil of the Carboniferous shark Ctenacanthus

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  Fossil in multiple views of the Late Devonian-Permian tabulate coral Favosites

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  Life restoration of the Carboniferous shark Glikmanius

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  Fossil of the Ordovician-Silurian tabulate coral Halysites

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  Life restoration of the Carboniferous Chimaera relative Iniopteryx

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  Fossilized shell of the Carboniferous-Permian nautiloid cephalopod Metacoceras

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  Life restoration of the Carboniferous-Permian freshwater shark Orthacanthus

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  Fossil of the Carboniferous crustacean Peachocaris

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  Fossilized shell of the Silurian-Early Triassic sea snail Platyceras

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  Life restorations of a male (foreground) and female (background) of the Late Devonian-Carboniferous Chimaera relative Stethacanthus

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  Fossilized shell of the Late Cretaceous ammonoid Collignoniceras

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  Life restoration of two of the Late Cretaceous Mosasaurus

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  Animated life restoration of the Late Cretaceous plesiosaur Styxosaurus

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  Life restoration of the Miocene camel Aepycamelus, or the long-necked camel. Heinrich Harder (1920).

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  Life restoration of the Miocene elephant relative Amebelodon. Margret Flinsch (1932).

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  Fossilized mandibles of the Miocene three-toed horse Anchitherium

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  Life restoration of the Eocene-Oligocene entelodont mammal Archaeotherium

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Pleistocene Bison latifrons, also known as the giant bison or long-horned bison

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  Life restoration of the Pliocene-Holocene camel Camelops

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  Life restoration of the Miocene-Pleistocene horned gopher Ceratogaulus. Robert Bruce Horsfall (1913).

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  Flowers of a living Cladrastis, or yellowwood

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  Restoration of the Miocene palaeomerycid Cranioceras, a relative of modern deer, with anachronistic human to scale

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  Life restoration of the Eocene-Oligocene dog Hesperocyon. Robert Bruce Horsfall (1913).

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  Life restoration of the Eocene-Miocene bear dog Daphoenus

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  Life restoration of the Eocene-Miocene false saber-toothed cat Dinictis. Robert Bruce Horsfall (1913).

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  Life restoration of the Eocene-Oligocene anthracothere mammal Elomeryx

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  Life restoration of the Miocene elephant relative Eubelodon

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene-Pleistocene elephant relative Gomphotherium

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  Fossilized skull of the Miocene bear Indarctos

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  Restoration of the Oligocene-Miocene oreodont mammal Leptauchenia

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  Life restoration of a herd of Mammuthus columbi, or Columbian mammoths. The extent of the fur depicted is hypothetical. Charles R. Knight (1909).

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  A living Mephitis mephitis, or striped skunk

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene-Pleistocene saber-toothed cat Metailurus

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene Neophrontops

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  A living Odocoileus deer

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  Spiral-shaped fossilized burrow and associated skeleton of the Oligocene-Miocene beaver Palaeocastor

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  Fossilized skull of the Eocene-Oligocene lizard Peltosaurus

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene elephant relative Platybelodon

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  Illustration of a fossilized skull of the Oligocene false faber-toothed cat Pogonodon

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  Life restoration of a female (left) and male of the Oligocene-Miocene even-toed ungulate Protoceras. Charles R. Knight (1896).

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  Life restoration of the Miocene-Pliocene pronghorn Ramoceros and Cosoryx. Robert Bruce Horsfall (1913).

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  Flowers of a living Robinia

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  Life restoration of the Pleistocene-Holocene saber-tooth cat Smilodon

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Pliocene-Pleistocene elephant relative Stegomastodon

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  Restoration of the Miocene protoceratid mammal Syndyoceras

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  Restoration of the Miocene-Pliocene rhinoceros Teleoceras

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  Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene-Pliocene ground sloth Thinobadistes

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  Known material diagram depicting the Miocene-Pleistocene mastodon relative Zygolophodon with a human to scale