Stanley Totten News Today

The Ice Age mammal is related to modern day elephants and is already the state fossil of Michigan.

Indiana lawmakers have designated the American mastodon as the states first official fossil, advancing the proposal to the governors desk for final approval.

Mastodons roamed Indiana starting about 2.5 million years ago and became extinct about 10,500 years ago, according to Hanover College geology professor Stanley Totten. They're now the most common Ice Age fossil found in Indiana.

Indiana lawmakers have 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 unanimously voted to name the mastodon Indianas state fossil, sending House Bill 1013 to the governor for approval.

INDIANAPOLIS—If you’ve ever gone to the zoo and visited the elephants, it might be hard to imagine prehistoric animals just as large trudging around what we know to be Indianapolis