Measure to name mastodon as Indiana’s state fossil awaits governor’s approval
Fred The Buesching Mastodon is a male fossil of an American Mastodon at the Indiana State Museum. The fossil was found at Buesching’s Peat Moss & Mulch Inc. in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and went on display at the museum in June 1998. It's cause of death is believed to have been a tusk wound from another mastodon. (Photo Provided/Indiana State Museum via Facebook)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers haver designated the American mastodon as the state’s first official fossil, advancing the proposal to the governor’s desk for final approval.
The Indiana Senate on Monday voted 39-6 to name the mastodon Indiana’s state fossil.
The bill, authored by Republican state Rep. Randy Frye of Greensburg, previously passed unanimously out of the House.
The Ice Age mammal is related to modern-day elephants and is already the state fossil of Michigan.
Retired geology professor Stanley Totten of Hanover College told the House Natural Resources Committee earlier in February that they’re now the most common Ice Age fossil found in Indiana.