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. 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. Iowa: The crinoid was proposed in 2018, though it was not officially accepted. New Hampshire: The American mastodon (Mammut americanum) was considered in 2015. Texas: There is no state fossil, though the state dinosaur is Sauroposeidon proteles. __TOC__
Table of state fossils Statefederal districtor territory Age Common name Binomialname 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 Georgia Cretaceous–Miocene Shark tooth species not specified 1976 Idaho Pliocene Hagerman horse Equus simplicidens 1988The Hagerman horse at the Idaho official list of state emblems 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 palmwoodPalmoxylon 1976 Maine Devonian Pertica plant Pertica quadrifaria1976 Maryland Miocene Ecphora gardneraeshell Ecphora gardneraegardnerae 1984 (name revised, 1994) Massachusetts Jurassic Dinosaur tracks Eubrontes giganteus 1980Official state fossil of Massachusetts in "State Symbols USA" Michigan Holocene American mastodon Mammut americanum 2002 Minnesota Pleistocene Giant beaver Castoroides ohioensis 2025 Mississippi Eocene "Prehistoric whale" Zygorhiza kochii 1981 Missouri Pennsylvanian Sea lilyDelocrinus missouriensis 1989"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 Montana Cretaceous Hadrosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum 1985"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 Nebraska Pleistocene Woolly mammothColumbian mammothImperial mammoth Mammuthus primigeniusMammuthus columbiMammuthus imperator 1967 Nevada Triassic Ichthyosaur Shonisaurus popularis 1977 (designated) 1988 (amended) New Jersey Cretaceous Hadrosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii 1991 New Mexico Triassic Coelophysis Coelophysis bauri 1981"About New Mexico - State Fossil", New Mexico's Secretary of State official website"Coelophysis, the New Mexico State Fossil", at New Mexico Earth Matters, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources official website New York Silurian Sea scorpion Eurypterus remipes 1984North CarolinaMiocene- PlioceneShark toothOtodus megalodon2013 North Dakota Paleocene Shipworm-boredpetrified wood Teredo petrified wood 1967 Ohio Ordovician Trilobite Isotelus maximus (Fossil invertebrate) 1985DevonianDunkleosteusDunkleosteus terrelli (Fossil Fish)2021 Oklahoma Jurassic Saurophaganax Saurophaganax maximus 2000 Oregon Eocene Dawn redwood Metasequoia 2005 Pennsylvania Devonian Trilobite Phacops rana 1988 Rhode Island Paleozoic Trilobite Genus and species not statedRhode Island State Fossil: Trilobite - In 2022, Rhode Island designated trilobites (genus and species not stated) as the state fossil, published by Paleontological Research Institution. 2023 South Carolina Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi 2014 South Dakota Cretaceous Triceratops Triceratops horridus 1988 Tennessee Cretaceous Bivalve Pterotrigonia thoracica 1998 Utah Jurassic Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis 1988Utah State Fossil - Allosaurus from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer - Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on September 8, 2008 Vermont Pleistocene Beluga whale (redesignated as state marine fossil in 2014) Delphinapterus leucas 1993Vermont has both a state terrestrial fossil and a state marine fossil. Pleistocene Woolly mammothtooth and tusk(state terrestrial fossil) Mammuthus primigenius 2014 Virginia Cenozoic scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius 1993 Washington Pleistocene Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi 1998http://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/ WA State Symbols West Virginia Late Pleistocene Jefferson's ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii 2008http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x112312085 Manchins signs bills involving snakes, fossils, research into law Wisconsin Silurian Trilobite Calymene celebra 1985 Wyoming Eocene Knightia Knightia spp. 1987
See also List of U.S. state dinosaurs List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, and gemstones Lists of U.S. state insignia
References
External links
List of U.S. state fossils, from National Park Service