Louisiana Fossil Page

Common Animal and Plant Fossils of Louisiana

- Under Construction -

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Table of Contents

• Plant Fossils
• Invertebrate Fossils
• Vertebrate Fossils
• Geologic Map of Louisiana
• Free Articles about Louisiana Fossils, Rocks, and Geology
• Geologic Time Scale
• Organizations
• List of State Fossils
• Special Topics
• Other Fossil Notes

Fossils can be found within Louisiana. The State Fossil is petrified palm wood, which is a form of petrified wood. Other fossils include Pleistocene vertebrate fossils, i.e. mastodons and mammoths, various Miocene vertebrates, and the Eocene fossil whale, Basilosaurus. Numerous invertebrate fossils can be found within the Pleistocene chert gravels, Pleistocene loesses, and outcropping Tertiary strata.

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1. Plant Fossils

1. Petrified Wood (Tertiary)
2. Petrified Palm Wood (State Fossil) (Tertiary)
3. Buried Forests (Pleistocene and Holocene)
4. Tree Molds (Pleistocene)

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2. Invertebrate Fossils

1. Loess Fossils and Loess - Land and freshwater mollusks found in Pleistocene loesses.
2.Gravel Fossils - Paleozoic marine fossils found in the chert gravel that
characterizes the Citronelle Formation (Upland complex) of Louisiana.
3. Tertiary Fossils - Marine fossils found within Tertiary marine
units that outcrop within northern and central Louisiana.

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3. Vertebrate Fossils

Mastodon
Pleistocene, 10,000 to 1.8 million years BP (mastodons, mammoths, and others)
Pliocene, 1.8 to 5.2 million years BP (horses)
Miocene, 5.2 to 23.7 million years BP (ancestral elephants, horses, and many other types)
Oligocene, 23.7 to 36.6 million years BP (bird tracks and sharks teeth)
Primitive Eocene Whales
Eocene, 36.6 to 57.8 million years BP (primitive whales, i.e. Basilosaurus)
Paleocene, 57.8 to 66.4 million years BP
Mesozoic (Cretaceous), 66.4 to 144 million years B.P.

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4. Geologic Map of Louisiana

The Geologic Map of Louisiana is modified from the "The Generalized Geologic Map of Louisiana, 1990."

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Free Articles about Louisiana Fossils, Rocks, and Geology

At the below links, free articles in the form of PDF files can be downloaded
from the Public Information Series web page1. 46-Million-Year-Old Marine Fossils from the Cane River Site, North-Central Louisiana (800 KB)
2. Louisiana Geofacts Brochure (1.6 MB)
3. Generalized Geologic Map of Louisiana (7.2 MB)
From the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, there is:
1. Fossil Hunting in Louisiana Gravels (3.4 MB)

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6. Geological Time Scale

Geologic Time Scale Figure and Discussion.
Terms such as "Pleistocene," "Pliocene," "Miocene," "Oligocene," "Eocene," and "Paleocene" given above refer to a few of many periods of relative time, from younger to older, that compose the Geologic Time Scale. These periods and other units of geologic time are units of relative time that scientists have subdivided the geologic history of the Earth on basis of the differing fossil assemblages they contain. Because these periods were named and ordered prior to the development of the theory of evolution and radiometric dating, the relative age of these periods to each other was based upon relationships (most commonly, vertical/stratigraphic position) that geologists repeatedly observed in outcrops.

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7. Organizations

• Louisiana Archaeological Society
• Louisiana Rock and Mineral Societies

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8. List of State Fossils

List of State Fossils

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9. Special Topics

Fossil Bats in Louisiana
Angola Mastodon

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10. Other Fossil Notes

Pterosaur of the Lost WorldFossil Upright Tree Trunks

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Version 5.0
JAnuary 25, 2008Copyright (c) 1996-2008 Paul V. Heinrich All rights reserved.