Below is a list of Official State Fossils that I have compiled after searching the Internet, looking at various publications, and making direct inquiries with state agencies. Information about the state fossils is listed in the order of common name, genus and species, and age. In cases, where an Official State Fossil has not been named, but a fossil has been named as a State Gem, Stone, etc., this fossil is listed in place of a state fossil.
1. Alabama - archaeocete whale, Basilosaurus cetoides, Eocene
2. Alaska - woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, Pleistocene
3. Arizona - petrified wood, Araucarioxylon arizonicum, Triassic
4. Arkansas - none
5. California - sabertooth cat, Smilodon fatalis, Pleistocene
6. Colorado - dinosaur, Stegosaurus stenops, Jurassic
7. Connecticut - gigantic, three-toed dinosaur track, Eubrontes giganteus, Triassic
8. Delaware - belemnite (cephalopod), Belemnite americana, Cretaceous
9. Florida - (State Stone - agatized coral, Anthozoa)
10. Georgia - shark's tooth, genus and species unspecified, Tertiary
11. Hawaii - none
12. Idaho - Hagerman Horse Fossil, Equus simplicidens (originally described as Plesippus shoshonensis), Pliocene
13. Illinois - Tully Monster, Tullimonstrum gregarium, Carboniferous
14. Indiana - none
15. Iowa - none
16. Kansas - none
17. Kentucky - brachiopod, genus and species unspecified, Paleozoic
18. Louisiana - petrified palmwood, Palmoxylon sp., Oligocene
19. Maine - early vascular land plant, Pertica quadrifaria, Devonian
20. Maryland - gastropod, Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae, Miocene
21. Massachusetts - dinosaur tracks, Eubrontes giganteus, Triassic
22. Michigan - mastodon, Mammut americanum, Pleistocene
(State Stone) - Petoskey Stone, Hexagonaria percarinata, Devonian
23. Minnesota - none
24. Mississippi - archaeocete whale, Zygorhiza kochii, Eocene
(State stone - petrified wood)
25. Missouri - crinoid, Delocrinus missouriensis, Carboniferous
26. Montana - duck-billed dinosaur, Maiasaura peeblesorum, Cretaceous
27. Nebraska - mammoth, Mammuthus imperator mailbeni, Pleistocene
28. Nevada - ichthyosaur, Shonisaurus popularis, Triassic
29. New Hampshire - none
30. New Jersey - dinosaur (Hadrosaur), Hadrosaurus foulki, Cretaceous
31. New Mexico - dinosaur, Coelophysis bauri, Triassic
32. New York - eurypterid, Eurypterus remipes, Silurian
33. North Carolina - none
34. North Dakota - Teredo Petrified Wood, Paleocene
35. Ohio - trilobite, Isotelus sp., Ordovician
36. Oklahoma - theropod dinosaur, Saurophaganax maximus, Jurrasic
37. Oregon - tree, Metasequoia sp., Miocene
38. Pennsylvania - trilobite, Phacops rana, Devonian
39. Rhode Island - none
40. South Carolina - none
41. South Dakota - dinosaur, Triceratops prorosus, Cretaceous
NOTE: back in 1988 the state fossil was the cycad, Cycadopsida.
42. Tennessee - clam, Pterotrigonia thoracica, Cretaceous
43. Texas (State Stone) - petrified palmwood, Palmoxylon sp., Oligocene
State Dinosaur - Brachiosaur Sauropod, Pleurocoelus sp., Cretaceous.
44. Utah - dinosaur, Allosaurus fragilis, Jurassic
45. Vermont - Charlotte, The Vermont Whale (beluga whale), Delphinapterus leucas, Pleistocene
46. Virginia - pelecypod, Chesapecten jeffersonius, Pliocene
47. Washington - Columbian Mammoth, Mammuthus columbi, Pleistocene
(State Gem - petrified wood, genus and species unspecified, Tertiary)
48. West Virginia (State Gem) - rugose coral, Lithostrotionella sp., Mississippian
49. Wisconsin - trilobite, Calymene celebra, Silurian
50. Wyoming - State Fossil - fresh-water herring, Knightia sp., Eocene
State Dinosaur - dinosaur, Triceratops, Cretaceous
51. District of Columbia, dinosaur, "Capitalsaurus", Cretaceous
U.S. state fossil has an extensive listing of fossils,
state and otherwise, for each state.
State Gems, Minerals, Rocks, and Stones
Copyright © 1996-2008 Paul V. Heinrich All rights reserved.