Michigan: Mamut americanum (state fossil)
Michigan: Mamut americanum (state fossil)
Michigan is one of only a handful of states that have designated two fossils as official symbols, honoring the American mastodon (Mamut americanum) as its official state fossil and a Devonian coral as its state stone.
Mastodons are found as fossils all over the Great Lakes Region and Upper Midwest, with over 250 discoveries in Michigan alone! They were large members of the elephant family which stood as much as 10 feet high at the shoulder. Many people are confused as to what the difference is between a mammoth and a mastodon. In short, mammoths were larger and had teeth adapted primarily for grazing (eating grasses; see Alaska state fossil), whereas mastodons were browsers (leaf eaters) with multi-cusped teeth, as shown at right. Mastodon fossils are most often found in regions that were forested during the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs (4 million - 10,000 years ago). The only known mastodon trackway was uncovered near Saline, Michigan and a cast of it is on display at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Although at times the whole state of Michigan was covered with ice, during interglacial periods it hosted extensive spruce parklands similar to what are found in central Alaska and northern Canada today. The contraction of the spruce forests with the onset of the present interglacial, increased snowfall which accompanied the warming, and overhunting by prehistoric humans may all have contributed to the extinction of the mastodon.
Senate Bill 397 designating the American mastodon as Michigan's official fossil was signed by Governor John Engler on April 8, 2002. The legislation, sponsored by State Sen. Thaddeus McCotter, was the result of a long campaign by Washtenaw Community College professor Dave Thomas, Slauson Middle School teacher Jeff Bradley, their students, and other students in Wayne and Washtenaw counties.
For further information: