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Humans' fascination with dinosaurs dates back centuries. Before the scientific designation of a group of animals called dinosaurs came sometime in the 1840s, some people believed the dinosaur fossils they found were anything from massive dragon bones to the bones of a human giant. Since then, every American state has searched their soil for dinosaur fossils โAnd some have come up with more than others.
Stacker compiled a list of the states with the most dinosaur fossil finds. They consulted the Paleobiology Database, a non-profit public resource that brings together fossil records from research institutions around the world, to make their ranking. Wisconsin came in at a tie for no. 46 with zero total fossils recorded. Here's what they had to say about Wisconsin's lack of dinosaur fossil finds:
Where there is no rock, there are no dinosaur bones, which is the case in Wisconsin. Though containing no stone from the Permian period to the Neogene age (either due to erosion or having never been there), the state is known for its small marine vertebrates proving water life from more than 500 million years ago. Wisconsin was covered with shallow seas in the early Paleozoic period, leaving behind thousands of samplings including the state fossil Calymene, first collected in the 1830s.
While Kentucky, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin all have no recorded dinosaur fossils, California comes in at no. 1 with 1,988 fossils.