Oregon recently announced its official state fossil--the dawn redwood
or Metasequoia (see article below from theworldlink.com). Four states
have arthropods as their state fossils. Can you name the states and
the fossils? I'll provide the answers later in June.

Best Regards,
Cary R. Easterday
http://www2.uic.edu/~ceaste2/index.html

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
ceaste2@...

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Oregon adopts state fossil

SALEM (AP) - Oregon has an official flower, bird, rock and gemstone,
but MacKenzie Smith, 11, noticed it was missing something: a state fossil.

Smith lobbied state lawmakers and testified earlier this session on a
bill to make the Metasequoia the state fossil, and Wednesday the
fifth-grade student saw his hard work pay off.

Fossils of the metasequoia - an ancient redwood that died off in
Oregon five million years ago and has since been reintroduced - is one
of the most abundant fossils in the state, according to the bill.

Wearing a double-breasted suit, the Tigard student sat next to Gov.
Ted Kulongoski on the desk in the governor's ceremonial office and
smiled as he watched the governor sign the bill into law.

He was joined by his class from Templeton Elementary School, who sat
on the floor and answered trivia questions from lawmakers.

"Who likes fossils? And I'm not talking about me," Kulongoski said to
the class.

Kulongoski asked them if they liked to go fishing, then the group
exchanged favorite fishing spots.

After signing the bill, Kulongoski gave Smith a copy and gave him a
tour of his private office.