List of U.S. state fossils

{{Short description|None}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}  Most states in the US have designated a '''state fossil''', many during the 1980s. It is common to designate a fossilized species, rather than a single specimen or a category of fossils. State fossils are distinct from other state emblems like state dinosaurs, state stones, state minerals, state gemstones or state rocks and a state may designate one, a few, or all of those. For example, in Arizona, the state stone is turquoise and the state dinosaur is ''Sonorasaurus thompsoni'' yet the state fossil is petrified wood.

The two first states to designate a state fossil were Nebraska and North Dakota, both in 1967.

Six states and the District of Columbia as of March 10th, 2026 still lack an explicit state fossil:

* Arkansas: There is no state fossil in Arkansas, though the state designated ''Arkansaurus'' as its state dinosaur.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/arkansas-state-fossil-arkansaurus | title= Arkansas State Fossil - Arkansaurus - While Arkansas does not officially have a state fossil it does have a state dinosaur | access-date= August 31, 2024 | work= State Symbols, State Fossil | publisher= Fossilera}}</ref> * District of Columbia: ''Capitalsaurus'' is the state dinosaur of Washington D.C., but the District has not chosen a state fossil. * Florida: There is no state fossil in Florida, though agatised coral, which is a fossil, is the state stone. * Hawaii: In history, Hawaii is too young to have many fossils, and its igneous composition makes fossils harder to find. The government has not officially declared any of its existing fossils a state fossil. <ref>{{cite web |title=Official State Fossils |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/official-state-fossils.htm |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=10 March 2026}}</ref> * Iowa: The crinoid was proposed in 2018<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 23, 2018|title=Iowa to consider recognizing official state fossil|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/iowa-to-consider-recognizing-official-state-fossil/|website=The Seattle Times}}</ref>, though it was not officially accepted. * New Hampshire: The American mastodon (''Mammut americanum'') was considered in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Carlson|first=Brady|date=January 6, 2015|title=Granite Geek: Will The Mastodon Become New Hampshire's Official State Fossil?|work=New Hampshire Public Radio|url=https://www.nhpr.org/post/granite-geek-will-mastodon-become-new-hampshires-official-state-fossil#stream/0}}</ref> * Texas: There is no state fossil, though the state dinosaur is ''Sauroposeidon proteles''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/symbols.html |title=Texas State Symbols |publisher=Texas State Legislature |access-date=December 13, 2017}}</ref> __TOC__ {{clear}}

==Table of state fossils== {| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" ! State federal district or territory ! Age ! Common name ! Binomial name ! Image ! Year adopted |- | Alabama || Eocene || ''Basilosaurus'' whale || ''Basilosaurus cetoides'' || upright|center|100px || 1984<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html | title= Official State of Alabama Fossil | access-date= March 19, 2007 | date= August 2, 2005 | work= Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors | publisher= Alabama Department of Archives & History | archive-date= December 30, 2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071230022941/http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_fosil.html | url-status= dead}}</ref> |- | Alaska || Pleistocene || Woolly mammoth || ''Mammuthus primigenius'' || center|100x100px ||1986 |- | Arizona || Triassic || Petrified wood || ''Araucarioxylon arizonicum'' || upright|center|100px ||1988 |- | California || Pleistocene || Saber-toothed cat || ''Smilodon fatalis'' || upright|center|100px ||1974 |- | Colorado || Jurassic || ''Stegosaurus'' || ''Stegosaurus armatus'' || center|100x100px || 1982 |- | Connecticut || Jurassic || Dinosaur tracks || ''Eubrontes giganteus'' || upright|center|100px || 1991 |- | Delaware || Cretaceous || Belemnite || ''Belemnitella americana'' || center|100x100px || |- | Georgia || Cretaceous– Miocene || Shark tooth || Carcharocles megalodon || upright|center|100px || 1976<ref>{{cite web |date=March 30, 2014 |title=Georgia State Fossil |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/paleontology-of-the-coastal-plain-province/m-7655/ |url-status=usurped |access-date=May 18, 2026 |work=State Symbols, State Fossil |publisher=New Georgie Encyclopedia}}</ref>  |- | Idaho || Pliocene || Hagerman horse || ''Equus simplicidens'' || upright|center|100px || 1988<ref>[https://sos.idaho.gov/state-emblems/ The Hagerman horse at the Idaho official list of state emblems]</ref> |- | Illinois || Pennsylvanian || Tully monster || ''Tullimonstrum gregarium'' || upright|center|100px || 1989<ref>{{citation |title= Illinois State Symbols |publisher= Department of Natural Resources |url= https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/Pages/ILStateSymbols.aspx |access-date= May 20, 2019 |archive-date= February 17, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170217031752/https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/Pages/ILStateSymbols.aspx |url-status= dead}}</ref>  |- | Indiana || Holocene || American mastodon || ''Mammut americanum'' || center|100x100px || 2022<ref>{{cite news |title= Indiana lawmakers name mastodon as first state fossil |agency=Associated Press |publisher= WHAS-TV|url=https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/indiana/mastodons-indiana-first-official-fossil/417-cd2d6a5f-6a90-4fd2-a182-3d2bf1175f1f |date=February 19, 2022 |access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2" | Kansas || Cretaceous || ''Pteranodon'' (state flying fossil)<ref name="kshs.org">{{cite web | url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/state-fossils/18626 | title=State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society}}</ref> || ''Pteranodon longiceps'' || upright|center|100px || 2014<ref name="List of State Fossils">{{cite web | url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/state-fossils#kansas | title= List of State Fossils | access-date= September 1, 2015 | work= State Symbols, State Fossil | publisher= Fossilera}}</ref> |- || Cretaceous || ''Tylosaurus'' (state marine fossil)<ref name="kshs.org"/> || ''Tylosaurus kansasensis'' || upright|center|100px || 2014<ref name="List of State Fossils"/> |- | Kentucky || Ordovician– Pennsylvanian || Brachiopod || undetermined || upright|center|100px || 1986<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm |title=Kentucky State Symbols |publisher=Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives |date=March 30, 2007 |access-date=July 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128223448/http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYSymbols.htm |archive-date=January 28, 2011}}</ref> |- | Louisiana || Oligocene || Petrified palmwood ||''Palmoxylon'' || upright|center|100px ||1976<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/louisiana.html | title = Louisiana State Fossil | access-date= March 8, 2015 | date= March 8, 2015 | work= State Symbols, State Fossil | publisher= e-Reference Desk}}</ref> |- | Maine || Devonian || Pertica plant || ''Pertica quadrifaria'' ||upright|center|100px ||1976 |- | Maryland || Miocene || ''Ecphora gardnerae'' shell || ''Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae'' ||upright|center|100px || 1984 (name revised, 1994)<ref>{{cite web | title=Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell |url=http://www.mgs.md.gov/geology/fossils/maryland_state_fossil_shell_fs.html|publisher=Maryland Geological Survey|access-date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> |- | Massachusetts || Jurassic || Dinosaur tracks || ''Eubrontes giganteus'' || upright|center|100px || 1980<ref>[https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/massachusetts/state-dinosaur-fossil/dinosaur-tracks Official state fossil of Massachusetts in "State Symbols USA"]</ref> |- | Michigan || Holocene || American mastodon || ''Mammut americanum'' || center|100x100px || 2002 |- | Minnesota || Pleistocene || Giant beaver || ''Castoroides ohioensis'' ||center|150x150px || 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sudak |first=Stuart |date=2025-05-30 |title=Giant beaver becomes Minnesota's official state fossil |url=https://www.eplocalnews.org/2025/05/30/giant-beaver-becomes-minnesotas-state-fossil-after-years-of-student-driven-advocacy/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Eden Prairie Local News}}</ref> |- | Mississippi || Eocene || "Prehistoric whale" || ''Zygorhiza kochii'' || upright|center|100px || 1981<ref>{{Citation |title= Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi |number=Pamphlet 3 |publisher=Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality |date=1991 |url= https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Pamphlet-3.pdf |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> |- | Missouri || Pennsylvanian || Sea lily ||''Delocrinus missouriensis'' || || 1989<ref>"[https://s1.sos.mo.gov/symbol/fossil The crinoid became Missouri's official fossil in 1989 after a group of Lee's Summit students worked through the legislative process to promote it as a state symbol]", Missouri's Secretary of State official website</ref> |- | Montana || Cretaceous || Hadrosaur || ''Maiasaura peeblesorum'' || 100px|center|upright || 1985<ref>"[https://www.atoztheusa.com/montana/state-fossil.html On February 22, 1985, a bill was passed unanimously, designating ''Maiasaura peeblesorum'' as Montana's official state fossil]", ''A to Z USA by World Trade Press''</ref> |- | Nebraska || Pleistocene || Woolly mammoth Columbian mammoth Imperial mammoth || ''Mammuthus primigenius'' ''Mammuthus columbi'' ''Mammuthus imperator'' || center|100x100px || 1967<ref>{{Cite web |last=USA |first=State Symbols |date=2014-10-05 |title=Mammoth State Fossil {{!}} State Symbols USA |url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nebraska/state-dinosaur-fossil/mammoth |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=statesymbolsusa.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cenozoic fossils of Nebraska |url=https://eas2.unl.edu/~tfrank/History%20on%20the%20Rocks/Nebraska%20Geology/Cenozoic/cenozoic%20web/5/Flora%20and%20Fauna.html |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=eas2.unl.edu}}</ref> |- | New Jersey || Cretaceous || ''Hadrosaur'' || ''Hadrosaurus foulkii'' || upright|center|100px || 1991<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.haddonfieldnj.org/information/about_our_town/hadrosaurus_foulkii_(_haddy_)_information/index.php | title= Hadrosaurus Foulkii ("Haddy") Information | access-date= August 30, 2024 | date= | work= Official website of the Borough of Haddonfield | publisher= Borough of Haddonfield}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= https://geologymuseum.rutgers.edu/about-us-geology-museum/mastodon-musings/mastodon-musings/255-the-story-of-new-jersey-s-state-fossil-hadrosaurus-foulkii | title= The Story of New Jersey's State Fossil: Hadrosaurus foulkii | access-date= August 30, 2024 | date= | work= Official website of the Rutgers Geology Museum | publisher= Rutgers Geology Museum}}</ref> |- | Nevada || Triassic || ''Ichthyosaur''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/nevada/state-dinosaur-fossil/ichthyosaur|title = Nevada State Fossil | Ichthyosaur| date=May 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/nevada.html|title = Nevada State Fossil: Ichthyosaur (Genus ''Shonisaurus'')}}</ref> || ''Shonisaurus popularis'' || center|100x100px ||1977 (designated) 1988 (amended)  |- | New Mexico || Triassic || ''Coelophysis'' || ''Coelophysis bauri'' || upright|center|100px ||1981<ref>"[https://s1.sos.mo.gov/symbol/fossil About New Mexico - State Fossil]", New Mexico's Secretary of State official website</ref><ref>"[https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/earthmatters/17/n2/em_v17_n2.pdf Coelophysis, the New Mexico State Fossil]", at ''New Mexico Earth Matters'', New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources official website</ref> |- | New York || Silurian || Sea scorpion || ''Eurypterus remipes'' || upright|center|100px || 1984 |- |North Carolina |Miocene- Pliocene |Shark tooth |''Otodus megalodon'' |upright|center|100px |2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ncpedia.org/symbols/fossil|title=Fossil, Fossilized Teeth of the Megalodon Shark {{!}} NCpedia|website=ncpedia.org|access-date=March 17, 2016}}</ref> |- | North Dakota || Paleocene || Shipworm-bored petrified wood || ''Teredo'' petrified wood |upright|center|100px ||1967<ref>{{cite web |title=North Dakota State Fossil - Teredo Petrified Wood |url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/north-dakota-state-fossil-teredo-petrified-wood |access-date=August 31, 2024 |work=State Symbols, State Fossil |publisher=Fossilera}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=North Dakota State Fossil |url=https://www.statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/north-dakota/state-dinosaur-fossil/teredo-petrified-wood |access-date=August 31, 2024 |website=statesymbolsusa.org}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2" | Ohio || Ordovician || Trilobite || ''Isotelus maximus'' (Fossil invertebrate) ||upright|center|100px || 1985<ref>{{Citation|title=5.071 State invertebrate fossil|work=Ohio Revised Code|url=https://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp5.071|access-date= February 9, 2021}}</ref> |- |Devonian |''Dunkleosteus'' |''Dunkleosteus terrelli'' (Fossil Fish) |center|100x100px |2021<ref>{{Citation|title=5.078 Official fossil fish of the state|work=Ohio Revised Code|url=https://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp5.078|access-date= February 9, 2021}}</ref> |- | Oklahoma || Jurassic || ''Saurophaganax'' || ''Saurophaganax maximus'' || upright|center|100px ||2000<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oklahoma State Fossil {{!}} ''Saurophaganax maximus''|url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/oklahoma/state-dinosaur-fossil/saurophaganax-maximus|access-date=January 30, 2021|website=statesymbolsusa.org|date=September 6, 2014}}</ref> |- | Oregon || Eocene || Dawn redwood || ''Metasequoia'' || upright|center|100px || 2005 |- | Pennsylvania || Devonian || Trilobite || ''Phacops rana'' || upright|center|100px || 1988<ref>{{citation |title= Official State Fossil – ''Phaecops rana'' |date = December 5, 1988 |publisher= Pennsylvania Legislature |url= https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/PDF/1988/0/0138..PDF |access-date= September 28, 2021}}</ref> |- | Rhode Island || Paleozoic || Trilobite || Genus and species not stated<ref>[https://earthathome.org/hoe/us-earth-science-quick-facts/ri/ Rhode Island State Fossil: Trilobite - In 2022, Rhode Island designated trilobites (genus and species not stated) as the state fossil], published by Paleontological Research Institution.</ref> || upright|center|100px || 2023<ref>{{cite web | url= https://law.justia.com/codes/rhode-island/title-42/chapter-42-4/section-42-4-23/ | title= 2023 Rhode Island General Laws Title 42 - State Affairs and Government Chapter 42-4 - State Emblems Section 42-4-23. - State fossil. | access-date= August 30, 2024 | date= | work= US Law, official publication | publisher= Justia.com}}</ref> |- | South Carolina || Pleistocene || Columbian mammoth || ''Mammuthus columbi'' || center|100x100px || 2014<ref>{{cite web | title = South Carolina Fossil | publisher = WLTX | url = http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/05/27/fossil-bill-opposition-state-sc-signed/9645971/ | access-date = May 28, 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |- | South Dakota || Cretaceous || ''Triceratops'' || ''Triceratops horridus'' || upright|center|100px || 1988<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/south-dakota-state-fossil-triceratops-horridus | title= South Dakota State Fossil - Triceratops Horridus; In 1988, the South Dakota state legislature designated the dinosaur Triceratops horridus as their state fossil | access-date= August 31, 2024 | work= State Symbols, State Fossil | publisher= Fossilera}}</ref> |- | Tennessee || Cretaceous || Bivalve || ''Pterotrigonia thoracica'' || 100px|center|upright || 1998<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tennessee State Fossil |url=https://www.statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/tennessee/state-dinosaur-fossil/pterotrigonia|access-date=August 31, 2024|website=statesymbolsusa.org|date=}}</ref> |- | Utah || Jurassic || ''Allosaurus'' || ''Allosaurus fragilis'' || upright|center|100px || 1988<ref>[http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fossil.html Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108021254/http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fossil.html |date=January 8, 2010}} from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008</ref> |- | rowspan="2" | Vermont || Pleistocene || Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014) || ''Delphinapterus leucas'' || center|100x100px || 1993<ref>Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil.</ref><ref name="vt">{{cite web|title=Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil|url=http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-fossil/vermont-terrestrial.html|website=E Reference Desk|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref> |- || Pleistocene || Woolly mammoth tooth and tusk (state terrestrial fossil) || ''Mammuthus primigenius'' || center|100x100pxcenter|100x100px || 2014<ref name=vt/><ref name="bratt">{{cite web|title=Mammoth Tusk Discovered 1865|url=http://brattleborohistory.com/antiques-fossils/mammoth-tusk-discovered-nearby-western-avenue.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909211648/http://brattleborohistory.com/antiques-fossils/mammoth-tusk-discovered-nearby-western-avenue.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 9, 2013|website=Brattleboro History|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref> |- | Virginia || Cenozoic || scallop || ''Chesapecten jeffersonius'' || upright|center|100px || 1993 |- | Washington || Pleistocene || Columbian mammoth || ''Mammuthus columbi'' || center|100x100px || 1998<ref>http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols</ref> |- | West Virginia || Late Pleistocene || Jefferson's ground sloth || ''Megalonyx jeffersonii'' || center|133x133px || 2008<ref>http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law</ref> |- | Wisconsin || Silurian || Trilobite || ''Calymene celebra'' || upright|center|100px || 1985<ref>{{cite web|title=Wisconsin State Symbols |publisher=State of Wisconsin |url=http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_state_symbols.html |access-date=December 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112222837/http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_state_symbols.html |archive-date=January 12, 2010}}</ref> |- | Wyoming || Eocene || ''Knightia'' || ''Knightia'' spp. || upright|center|100px || 1987 |}

== References == {{Reflist}} {{refbegin}} {{refend}}

==External links== {{sister project links|fossil}} *[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/official-state-fossils.htm List of U.S. state fossils, from National Park Service]

*State Fossils United States Fossils