paleontology in Kansas

Paleontology in Kansas refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Kansas. Kansas has been the source of some of the most spectacular fossil discoveries in US history. The fossil record of Kansas spans from the Cambrian to the Pleistocene. From the Cambrian to the Devonian, Kansas was covered by a shallow sea. During the ensuing Carboniferous the local sea level began to rise and fall. When sea levels were low the state was home to richly vegetated deltaic swamps where early amphibians and reptiles lived. Seas expanded across most of the state again during the Permian, but on land the state was home to thousands of different insect species. The popular pterosaur Pteranodon is best known from this state. During the early part of the Cenozoic era Kansas became a savannah environment. Later, during the Ice Age, glaciers briefly entered the state, which was home to camels, mammoths, mastodons, and saber-teeth. Local fossils may have inspired Native Americans to regard some local hills as the homes of sacred spirit animals. Major scientific discoveries in Kansas included the pterosaur Pteranodon and a fossil of the fish Xiphactinus that died in the act of swallowing another fish. Prehistory No Precambrian fossils are known from Kansas, so the state's fossil record does not begin until the Paleozoic era. Kansas From the Cambrian to the Devonian, Kansas was covered by a shallow sea. The Cambrian life of Kansas left behind few fossils. The state's sea levels began to fluctuate during the Carboniferous period. While the state was still covered by the sea, it was home to a rich variety of marine invertebrates. During the later half of the Carboniferous, the Pennsylvanian, nautiloids could be found in Franklin County. Other kinds of marine invertebrates could be found in Anderson County. Paleoniscid fishes swam in the waterways of Douglas County. Some of their fossils have preserved the fishes' soft parts. Fish fossils of this age were also preserved in Anderson County. During the drier intervals Kansas was home to great coastal swamps with a rich flora included ferns and scale trees. These swamps were responsible for leaving behind great coal deposits. The local flora also left behind remains that would later fossilize in what are now southern Labette County and Montgomery County. The plant Walchia grew in Anderson County, although its fossils are rare.