Fact #1. The Megalodon shark was the largest shark that ever lived, estimated to have reached up to 60 feet in length.
Crystals are very trendy right now. We've created a list of some of the most popular and colorful ones.
Learn about the tyrannosaurid Albertosaurus. Albertosaurus was a large theropod from the Late Cretaceous. It is famously found in the dinosaur-rich, Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada.
Learn about Allosaurus. Allosaurus was one of the most fearsome predatory dinosaurs in the Jurassic Period.
Ammonite facts and ammonites fossils for sale. Ammonites were prehistoric, coiled cephalopods whose fossils are found worldwide.
Basilosaurs are a family of extinct, primitive whales of the early to middle eocene. As whales early ancestors left the land in favor of the sea, it is likely that these were the first fully aquatic whale.
Celestite is a strontium based mineral that frequently has a deep, sky-blue coloration. It tends to form attractive, well-shaped crystals often found inside of geodes.
Learn about crinoids. Crinoids are an echinoderm related to starfish, sea urchins, and brittle stars.
Learn about dinosaur teeth. Why do different dinosaurs have vastly different looking teeth? Which dinosaurs have the largest and smallest teeth?
Learn about Hadrosaurs, commonly referred to as a duck-billed dinosaur. FossilEra also has quality hadrosaur fossils for sale.
Learn about mammoth molars/teeth including identifying growth stages, placement in the jaw and species.
Minerals are the building blocks of almost everything earth and crystals are some of nature's most spectacular wonders. But, how do they form.
Spinosaurus was the largest known meat-eating dinosaur and also the first known semi-aquatic dinosaur.
The horned Triceratops is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs. Find out more...
Chalcedony is a broad term to describe a microcrystalline form of silica. Agate is any type of chalcedony which is translucent, while jasper is any type of chalcedony which is opaque.
In 1986 the Alaska state legislature officially designated the Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) as the Alaska state fossil.
In 1988 the Arizona state legislature designated the petrified wood of Araucarioxylon arizonicum, a prehistoric conifer as the Arizona state fossil.
While Arkansas does not officially have a state fossil it does have a state dinosaur. Arkansaurus was designated as the state dinosaur in 2017.
In 1982 the Colorado state legislature designated the fossils of Stegosaurus as the Colorado state fossil.
In 1991 the Connecticut state legislature designated fossil, theropod dinosaur tracks found in the Connecticut Valley as their state fossil.
So, how do we know how old a fossil is? There are two main types of fossil dating, relative dating and absolute dating.
In 1996 the Delaware state legislature designated fossil belemnites (Belemnitella americana) as the Delaware state fossil.
A large, hollow cavity in the rear end of some dinosaurs has been postulated to contain a second brain. But, is this just a myth?
Rose quartz is a pink colored variety of quartz that is coarsely crystalline. It is found only in a massive state and does not form individual crystals with external faces.
In 1979 the Florida state legislature designated the agatized, fossil coral found in the Northwestern part of the state as the state stone.
A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of organisms (plants, animals, etc) that lived in the distant past. Learn more about fossils...
In 1976 the Georgia state legislature designated the fossil shark tooth as the Georgia state fossil.
In 1988 the Idaho state legislature designated the Hagerman Horse (Equus simplicidens) as the Idaho state fossil.
In 1989 the Illinois state legislature designated the Tully Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium) as the Illinois state fossil.
Indiana currently does not have an official state fossil, though the crinoid (Elegantocrinus hemisphaericus) was proposed in 2015.
Yes, amethyst is a purple variety of quartz which owes its color to a combination of trace amounts of iron in the quartz and that has been naturally irradiated.
Kambaba jasper is a greenish stone full of black orbs that superficially resembles fossil stromatolites. But, is it one?
In 2014 the Kansas state legislature designated the fossils of Tylosaurus and a Pteranodon as the official Kansas state fossils.
In 1986 the Kentucky state legislature designated the brachiopod as the Kentucky state fossil. Brachiopods are small, filter-feeding marine organisms that superficially look like clams.
A current list of the official state fossil designations by state with information and photos.
In 1976 the Louisiana state legislature officially designated petrified palm wood of the genus Palmoxylon as the Louisiana state fossil.
In 1985 the Maine state legislature designated the Middle Devonian vascular plant, Pertica Quadrifaria as the Maine state fossil.
In 1994 the Maryland state legislature designated the Gastropod (Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae) as the Maryland state fossil.
The Great White Shark being a descendant of or closely related to the Megalodon might be the most commonly repeated misconception about the prehistoric shark.
Learn about the biggest and most bad-ass predator to ever inhabit earth's oceans, the 60 foot Megalodon Shark!
Researchers from the University of Florida have announced the discovery of a 10 million year old Megalodon nursery area located in Panama.
Most current, scientifically accepted estimates for the Megalodon's maximum size fall into the 60-70 foot range, with a weight of 50-70 tons.
Mosasaurs are very large extinct marine reptiles with some species reaching lengths of over 50 feet and are considered to be some of the fearsome predators to ever inhabit our oceans.
In 1977 the Nevada state legislature designated the ichthyosaur fossils as the Nevada state fossil. In 1989 this designation was amended to specifically be the fossils of Shonisaurus popularis.
The Denver Museum Of Nature and Science has announced a significant, new fossil discovery documenting the rapid rise of mammals after the KT extinction event which killed over 75% of life on earth.
In 1984 the New York state legislature designated Eurypterus remipes a type of Eurypterid, more commonly known as a sea scorpion as the New York state fossil.
In 2013 the North Carolina state legislature officially designated the fossil teeth of the prehistoric Megalodon shark as the North Carolina state fossil.
In 1967 the North Dakota state legislature designated teredo petrified wood as the North Dakota state fossils.
In 2005 the Oregon state legislature adopted the fossils of the dawn redwood or Metasequoia as the Oregon state fossil.
Outside of amethyst and fluorite, purple is one of the rarer colors in the mineral world.
In 1988, the South Dakota state legislature designated the dinosaur Triceratops horridus as their state fossil.
Texas is one of the few states that have multiple state fossils by way of having a state stone which is also a fossil, as well as a state dinosaur.
There were a lot of interesting fossil discoveries made in 2019, here are some of the most important and spectacular.
In 1988 the Utah state legislature designated Allosaurus as the Utah state fossil. In addition the Utahraptor was designated as the official state dinosaur in 2018.
Preparation photos of a great Utaspsis marjumensis trilobite collected in the spring of 2013.
Vermont was two designated state fossils, the Mount Holly Mammoth and the Charlotte Whale.
In 1993, the Virginia state legislature designated the fossil scallop (Chesapecten jeffersonius) as the Virginia state fossil.
In 2008 the West Virginia state legislature designated the giant ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonnii) as the West Virginia state fossil.
The term “agatized” is generally used to describe a fossil that has been replaced with chalcedony, a microcrystalline form of quartz.
As the joke would go, it was a 60 foot shark, it could eat whatever it wanted. But, what does the fossil record show that the Megalodon really ate?
Up until the discovery of large amethyst deposits in Brazil during the early 19th century, amethyst was considered a precious gemstone comparable to diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds.
"Raptor" is a non-scientific term popularized by the Jurassic Park movie franchise. It is generally used to refer to small to medium sized, bird-like dinosaurs.
Learn about trilobites. Trilobites were an extinct marine arthropod that lived during the Paleozoic era.
The largest ammonite fossil that has been found was 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) across, but it’s living chamber was incomplete. It is of the species Parapuzosia seppenradensis and was found near Westphalia, Germany in 1895.
Two geodes geodes are claimed to be the largest in the world, the Pulpi Geode in Spain and Ohio's celestite crystal cave.
Very few Megalodon teeth have ever been found exceeding 7 inches. The largest that can be verified is a 7.48 inch monster from Peru.
Fossils have a wide array of colors not due to the original color of the organism, but because of the complicated mineralization process.
In 1985 the Utah state legislature designated fossils of Calymene celebra, a type of trilobite as the Wisconsin state fossil.
In 1987 the Wyoming state legislature designated the small fossil fish Knightia as the Wyoming state fossil. In addition, in 1994 Triceratops was adopted as the Wyoming state dinosaur.
Learn about Xiphactinus, one of the largest bony fish that ever lived that terrorized the inland seaways of the United States during the Cretaceous period.
