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Missouri, US

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State Fossil:
State fossil from Missouri

Delocrinus missouriensis
This crinoid, known as a “sea lily,” was common in the shallow seas covering much of western North America ~ 320-290 million years ago. Crinoids are related to sea urchins and sea stars and can be found today in both shallow and very deep waters.

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Paleontology and geology

The Precambrian: The oldest rocks in Missouri are igneous and metamorphic rocks approximately 1.8 billion years old. No fossils are known from these rocks.

The Paleozoic: Warm, shallow seas covered Missouri through much of the Paleozoic, up until the Late Carboniferous. Fossils of trilobites, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, corals, and bryozoans are common in many of the state’s Paleozoic rocks. Sharks and various fishes have also left their remains in some of these rocks. Late in the Paleozoic, erosion of great mountains along the eastern part of the United States, formed during the Alleghenian Orogeny, dumped vast quantities of sediments westward into this shallow sea, creating huge deltas with swampy lowlands. By the end of the Paleozoic, most of the state was above sea level and erosion outpaced deposition.

The Mesozoic: Missouri was primarily above sea level throughout most of the Mesozoic, and erosion outpaced deposition. In Late Mesozoic (Cretaceous) rocks, fossils of molluscs and marine reptiles indicate that the sea flooded the far southeastern part of the state, in an area known as the Mississippi Embayment. The only known dinosaur fossils from Missouri come from a Cretaceous clay in this area. Fossil leaves from some of the first flowering plants have also been found in the state’s Cretaceous rocks.

The Cenozoic: Early Cenozoic deposits in Missouri consist of stream-deposited clays, sands, gravels, and a few poorly consolidated sandstones that formed along the shores of the Mississippi Embayment, where the early Gulf of Mexico flooded the region. Plant fossils indicate that this was a time with a relatively mild climate. During the Late Cenozoic (Pleistocene), glaciers covered parts of the state north of the Missouri River, leaving behind deposits of till, clay, gravel, and loess (wind-blown silt). Fossils of Missouri’s ice age mammals, particularly mastodons, are famous.

Links to more on Missouri paleontology

Organizations | Education and Exhibits | Research and Collections

Organizations

Parks (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Mastodon State Historic Site: This site provides information about the programs and exhibits offered, including the Kimmswick Bone Beds that have produced many mastodon bones.

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Education and Exhibits

Virtual Exhibits (showing 2 of 2 listings)

Pennsylvanian Fossils of Missouri: Although these Pennsylvanian pages are named "Pennsylvanian Fossils of Missouri", this web site is more accurately devoted to a study of the Altamont Formation, containing the fossiliferous Lake Neosho Shale, at one locality in the St. Louis, Missouri, Pennsylvanian Outlier.

Mississippian Fossils of Missouri: The Mississippian Fossils of Missouri project is focused on the Mississippian exposures in the St. Louis area.

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Research and Collections

Researchers (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Dr. Thomas W. Kammer: Specialty: Evolutionary paleoecology of Paleozoic crinoids, plus lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphy of marine Mississippian rocks in the east-central United States. Field areas include West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa.

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Ongoing Research Projects (showing 2 of 2 listings)

Paleontology and Geology of Missouri: This site is a Paleontological research project based in
St. Louis, Missouri, devoted to the study of the geological
formations in Missouri. Primary focus is the study of the
fossils found in these formations.

The bryozoan Evactinopora: Evactinopora is a star-shaped bryozoan, one of the most unusual Mississippian fossils that occur in the midcontinent region of North America.

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