This Jefferson ground slow inhabited much of what is now West Virginia during the Ice Age. Fossils are found in coal mines and excavations, including road cuts. For more information contact: Ray Garton PO Box 200, Barrackville, WV 26559 304.282.2306 or garton@prehistoricplanet.com In my mind, this was a discard since it was laying out in the open so I could only fantasize about the beautiful specimens fellow fossil hunters were keeping. 10.289 million years. Fossil coral looks like little tie-dyed “flowers” of white on a brown, gray, black, yellow or red background. It is the largest known speciesof Megalonyx, and reaches the Share fossils, sites, stories, museum pics… anything! Fossils include Phacops trilobites,Michelinoceras nautiloids,brachiopods. the Hemphillian of the Late Miocene through to the Rancholabrean of the Pleistocene, living from ~10.3 Mya- 11,000 years ago, existing for approximately Ground sloths originated in South America and are distantly related to the living tree sloths of that continent. Whereas, Thirty-nine of the 50 states have an official state fossil; therefore, be it West Virginia's state fossil; and, be it Whereas, The timber rattlesnake is present throughout West Virginia and its color and pattern is reminiscent of West Virginia's fauna and flora; and Paleontology Education. We're gonna check out a pretty remote area with just a pan. Like an amphibian, Tanytrachelos was equally comfortable moving about in water or on land, and it probably subsisted on insects and small marine organisms. Many ancient manmade earthen mounds from various prehistoric mound builder cultures survive, especially in the areas of present-day Moundsville, South Charleston, and Romney. The most common fossils found in West Virginia were formed by molds, casts, and mineral replacement. The State Gem, so designated by House Concurrent Resolution No. than the outside of the foot as in other ground sloths. Jefferson's Ground Sloth. The Epic Roadside Spot In West Virginia Where You Can Find 250-Million-Year-Old Fossils Of all the things you’d expect to find in the Mountain State, fossils make a great deal of sense. Megalonyx jeffersonii is an extinct giant ground sloth that lived in North America from the Late Miocene (10 million years ago) through the Pleistocene (11,000 years ago) It was stood nearly 10 feet tall and weighed up to a ton. Thanks to Delegate Mike Burdiss (Wyoming County) and Senator Roman Prezioso (Marion County), the State Legislature passed the resolution to designate Fossils are evidence of plant and animal life in the geologic past and they form in may ways. Megalonyx jeffersonii the official State Fossil of West Virginia. size of an ox at 2.5 to 3 m (8 to 10 ft.) long. Its skull is short, broad and deep with a blunt muzzle. Virginia and West Virginia Fossil Collecting. than other North American ground sloths. Fossil coral is not technically a gemstone, but rather the silicified Mississippian fossil coral Lithostrotionella, preserved as the siliceous mineral chalcedony (chalcedony is found in Hillsdale Limestone in portions of Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties of West Virginia). This dinosaur became the state fossil in 2008 though it became extinct in the Pleistocene Age. West Virginia State Fossil: Giant Ground Sloths Megalonyx (Greek, "great claw") is an extinct genus of giant ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae endemic to North America from the Hemphillian of the Late Miocene through to the Rancholabrean of the Pleistocene, living from ~10.3 Mya- 11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 10.289 million years. Official State Fossil of West Virginia. Whereas, The bones are from the Ice Age or Pleistocene Epoch which lasted from 10,000 to 1.8 million years ago; and Mazon Creek Fossils. Whereas, Wistar named the bones as a new species, Megalonyx Jeffersonnii, in honor of President Jefferson; and The teeth are peg-like, and space separates Designating the timber rattlesnake as West Virginia's state reptile and designating Megalonyx Jeffersonii as West Virginia's state fossil. VA: In area exposures in George Washington National Forest: Paleozoic: abundant fossils: VA0009 |, Culpepper Basin: Fairfax: VA: Triassic: Bull Run Shale: fish-Redfieldius: VA0010 |, Gainsboro: Frederick: VA: in the West bound lane road cut 3.2km West: Devonian: trilobites,crinoids,cephalopods: VA0011 |, Gore: Frederick: VA Plant fossils are commonly found in shales that overlie coal beds. ‎. Whereas, The timber rattlesnake is important to preserve as a predator and prey in West Virginia's ecology; and West Virginia's fossil record begins in the Cambrian. From the geologic wonder known as the Appalachian Mountain Range, it seems plausible that many such fossils would be pushed up and exposed throughout the state. Only Dinosaurs. Plant fossils are commonly found in shales that overlie coal beds. West Virginia designated Jefferson’s ground sloth, or Megalonyx jeffersonii (a giant prehistoric ground sloth) as the official state fossil in 2008 to promote the earth sciences; "affording an opportunity for special studies in American, state and natural history for the students of the state" (SCR 28).