Fossils have become immensely popular symbols of the 50 U.S. states. Fossil asp represent some of Canada’s provinces and Australa’s states. However, is there such a thing as a national fossil?
I’m not yet sure myself. While I investigate, let’s take a brief tour of fossils of state.
National ˆ
United States ˆ
Just five states are without an official fossil. Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island have a good excuse; there are very few fossils in volcanic regions (Hawaii) or regions that were recently scoured by glaciers (New Hampshire and Rhode Island).
However, the other two holdouts—Iowa and Minnesota—are located in the Midwest, which is crawling with fossils of ancient marine invertebrates, along with fossils of Ice Age animals.
In fact, Indiana had no state fossil until 2022, when it adopted the American mastodon. Minnesotans chose a giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) in 2021. According to media reports, it was headed for adoption in 2022, but I haven’t found any confirmation of its designation.
The table below lists all fossiliferous items adopted as state symbols except limestone and marble, which are composed of the remains of many different kinds of marine animals. (They are listed in the State Minerals table.)
The color green represents plant fossils. Light blue represents marine animals, while dark blue represents freshwater species. (North Dakota’s state fossil is a hybrid—fossilized wood that was swept out to sea, where it was bored by marine invertebrates commonly called shipworms.)
In the middle column, the letters P, M, and C represent three vast periods of time—the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. Marine invertebrates were well established during the early Paleozoic, though many species are still living today. The Mesozoic is the Age of Dinosaurs. Though early mammals lived alongside the dinosaurs, all mammals adopted as state symbols lived during the later Cenozoic Era, which hasn’t ended.
One final note. Note all states have separate fossil pages on this site. Therefore, the state names in the column on the left are linked to earth symbols pages. If the fossil you’re looking for isn’t featured on that page, there should be a link to a separate fossil page.
| List of State Fossils | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Species | Designation | ||
| Alabama | prehistoric whale (Basilosaurus cetoides) | C | 1984 | |
| Alaska | woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) | C | 1986 | |
| Arizona | Arizona petrified wood (Araucarioxylon arizonicum) | M | 1988 | |
| Arkansas | Arkansaurus fridayi | M | Dinosaur | 2017 |
| California | saber toothed cat (Smilodon californicus) | C | 1973 | |
| Colorado | Stegosaurus | M | 1982 | |
| Connecticut | dinosaur track (Eubrontes giganteus) | M | 1991 | |
| Delaware | American belemnite (Belemnitella americana) | M | 1996 | |
| District of Columbia | Capitalsaurus (Creosaurus potens) | M | 1998 | |
| Florida | agatized coral (Anthozoa) | C | Stone | 1979 |
| Georgia | shark tooth (Elasmobranchii) | 1976 | ||
| Hawaii | (none) | |||
| Idaho | Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens) | C | 1988 | |
| Illinois | Tully Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium) | P | 1989 | |
| Indiana | American mastodon (Mammut americanum) | C | 2022 | |
| Iowa | (none) | |||
| Kansas | Pteranodon | M | Flying Fossil | 2014 |
| Tylosaurus | M | Marine Fossil | 2014 | |
| Kentucky | brachiopod (Brachiopoda) | P | 1986 | |
| Louisiana | petrified palmwood (Arecaceae) | C | 1976 | |
| Maine | Pertica quadrifaria | P | 1985 | |
| Maryland | Ecphora gardnerae | C | Fossil Shell | 1984 |
| Astrodon johnstoni | M | Dinosaur | 1998 | |
| Massachusetts | dinosaur tracks (Eubrontes giganteus) | M | 1980 | |
| Michigan | mastodon (Mammut americanum) | C | 2002 | |
| Petoskey stone (Hexagonaria percarinata) | P | Stone | 1965 | |
| Minnesota | (none) | |||
| Mississippi | prehistoric whale (Basilosaurus cetoides) | C | 1981 | |
| petrified wood | C | Stone | 1976 | |
| Missouri | crinoid (Delocrinus missouriensis) | P | 1989 | |
| Hypsibema missouriensis | M | Dinosaur | 2004 | |
| Montana | duck billed dinosaur (Maiasaura peeblesorum) | M | 1985 | |
| Nebraska | mammoth (Mammuthus) | C | 1967 | |
| Nevada | ichthyosaur (Shonisaurus) | M | 1977 | |
| New Hampshire | (none) | |||
| New Jersey | Hadrosaurus foulkii | M | Dinosaur | 1991 |
| New Mexico | Coelophysis | M | 1981 | |
| New York | sea scorpion (Eurypterus remipes) | P | 1984 | |
| North Carolina | fossilized teeth of the shark Megalodon | C | 2013 | |
| North Dakota | teredo petrified wood | C | 1967 | |
| Ohio | trilobite (Isotelus) | P | Invertebrate Fossil | 1985 |
| Oklahoma | Saurophaganax maximus | M | 2000 | |
| Acrocanthosaurus atokensis | M | Dinosaur | 2006 | |
| Oregon | Metasequoia | C | 2005 | |
| Pennsylvania | trilobite (Phacops rana) | P | 1988 | |
| Rhode Island | (none) | |||
| South Carolina | Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) | C | 2014 | |
| South Dakota | Triceratops | M | 1988 | |
| Tennessee | Pterotrigonia thoracica | P | 1998 | |
| Texas | Paluxysaurus jonesi / Sauroposeidon proteles | M | Dinosaur | 1997 |
| petrified palmwood | C | Stone | 1969 | |
| Utah | Allosaurus | M | 1988 | |
| Vermont | beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) | C | 1993 | |
| Mount Holly mammoth tooth and tusk (Mammuthus) | C | Terrestrial Fossil | 2014 | |
| Virginia | Chesapecten jeffersonius | C | 1993 | |
| Washington | Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) | C | 1998 | |
| petrified wood | C | Gem | 1975 | |
| West Virginia | giant ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) | C | 2008 | |
| fossil coral (Lithostrotionella) | P | Gem | 1990 | |
| Wisconsin | trilobite (Calymene celebra) | P | 1985 | |
| Wyoming | Knightia | C | 1987 | |
| Triceratops | M | Dinosaur | 1994 | |
Canada ˆ
| List of Provincial Fossils | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province | Species | Designation | ||
| Alberta | petrified wood | Stone | 1977 | |
| British Columbia | elasmosaur | M | Fossil | 2019 |
| Manitoba | mosasaur (Tylosaurus pembinensis) | M | Fossil | 2015 |
| Nova Scotia | Hylonomus lyelli | P | Fossil | 2002 |
| Saskatchewan | Tyrannosaurus rex | M | Fossil | |
Other Fossils of State ˆ
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