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State Fossils
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Mississippi Symbols
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Mississippi State Fossil
Prehistoric Whales
(Basilosaurus cetoides & Zygorhiza kochii)
Adopted on March 26, 1981.
A Senate Concurrent Resolution, designating these prehistoric whales, Basilosaurus cetoides Zygorhiza kochii,
as the state fossils, was adopted on March 26, 1981 with Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 557.
Basilosaurus is the larger and better-known of the two state fossils. It had a small head and a narrow body 50
- 80 feet long, giving it the look of a "sea serpent." The first specimen of this whale was found in 1832 along
the Ouachita River, and since that time specimens have turned up regularly in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.
Zygorhiza was a smaller whale, reaching only 20 feet, and had a more whale-like body form. The first well-preserved
specimens of Zygorhiza were found on the Gulf Coastal Plain in the late 1800s, and a nearly complete skeleton was
excavated near Tinsley in 1971.
 Zygorhiza
kochii was an archaeocete, a forerunner of the modern toothed whales (e.g., sperm whales, killer whales, porpoises,
etc.) which lived during the Eocene epoch (approximately 37,000,000 to 56,000,000 years ago). Its fossilized remains
are very rarely found in southeastern North Carolina. It was an impressive predator in those early oceans, reaching
almost 20 feet in length. The largest teeth (the second and third premolars) are 2 - 2½ inches wide in a mature
individual.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
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| Kingdom |
Animalia (animals) |
| Phylum |
Chordata (having a spinal cord) |
| Subphylum |
Vertebrata -- vertebrates |
| Class |
Mammalia (mammals) |
| Order |
Cetacea (aquatic mammals) |
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Suborder |
Archaeoceti (archaeocetes or zeuglodonts, extinct, primitive whales with teeth) |
| Family |
Basilosauridae (late Eocene) - larger, more whale-like cetaceans |
| Genus |
Basilosaurus |
| Species |
Basilosaurus Cetoides |
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
| Kingdom |
Animalia (animals) |
| Phylum |
Chordata (having a spinal cord) |
| Subphylum |
Vertebrata -- vertebrates |
| Class |
Mammalia (mammals) |
| Order |
Cetacea (aquatic mammals) |
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Suborder |
Archaeoceti (archaeocetes or zeuglodonts, extinct, primitive whales with teeth) |
| Family |
Basilosauridae (late Eocene) - larger, more whale-like cetaceans |
| Genus |
Zygorhiza |
| Species |
Zygorhiza kochii |
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State Fossils
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Most US states have made a state fossil designation, in many
cases during the 1980s. It is common to designate one species in which fossilization has
occurred, rather than a single specimen, or a category of fossils not limited to a single
species.
Some states that lack a "state fossil" have nevertheless singled out a fossil for formal
designation such as a state dinosaur, rock, gem or stone.
fossil (fŏs'əl)
n.
1. A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or
leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust.
2. One, such as a rigid theory, that is outdated or antiquated.
adj.
1. Characteristic of or having the nature of a fossil.
2. Being or similar to a fossil.
3. Belonging to the past; antiquated.
[From Latin fossilis, dug up, from fossus, past participle of fodere, to dig.]
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