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local sediments were being eroded away from the state rather than deposited, so there are no rocks of this age in which fossils could have been preserved within Rhode Island's boundaries. Despite the absence of
Triassic and Jurassic rock in the states, some sedimentary rocks dating back to the
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history does not add much information about the state's ancient wildlife either. Nevertheless, evidence indicates that the state was at least partially submerged by seawater at some time during this interval. Among the few known fossils from this general time period are
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fossils have ever been discovered in Rhode Island. Like during the
Triassic and Jurassic, Rhode Island's sediments were being eroded away rather than deposited during the ensuing
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was the first
Carboniferous arachnid ever found in the eastern United States. Other notable Carboniferous arthropods from Rhode Island included a previously unknown genus of
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of more recent age. One of the best of these later specimens was a trunk with a 16-inch diameter from a tree that was estimated to be more than 50 feet tall.
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periods of the
Cenozoic era, leaving another gap in the state's geologic and fossil record. More recently, during the
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activity. Notable local fossil finds have included previously unknown kinds of insect and abundant ancient amphibian
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Weishampel, D.B. & L. Young. 1996. Dinosaurs of the East Coast. The Johns
Hopkins University Press.
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epoch of the
Carboniferous. These plants left behind abundant fossils like leaves, stems, and trunks.
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environment where lush vegetation included trees more than 50 feet high. Local animal life included
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239:(an herbivorous insect). At the time, Rhode Island was also home to many kinds of
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period the same geologic forces that would later become responsible for dividing
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Hunting for
Fossils: A Guide to Finding and Collecting Fossils in All 50 States
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triggered the formation of a rift basin in the northern part of the state.
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Springer, Dale, and Judy
Scotchmoor. July 1, 2005. "Rhode Island, US."
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periods are also missing from Rhode Island's rock record. During the
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environment. Rhode Island was home to a rich flora during the
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fossils are known from Rhode Island, which was located in the
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discovered the fossilized wing of a prehistoric cockroach in
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Springer, and
Scotchmoor (2005); "Paleontology and geology".
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research occurring within or conducted by people from the
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Paleontological research in the U.S. state of Rhode Island
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Rhode Island Museum of Natural History and Planetarium,
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rocks deposited in that same Paleozoic sea. During the
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at that time. The fossil record of the state's early
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Weishampel and Young (1996); "Introduction", page 2.
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Carboniferous Rhode Island was home to a variety of
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182:drained into the basin, which became a
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303:Near the end of 1892 a clergyman from
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109:. Little is known about the state's
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49:. Among its more common fossils are
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541:Paleontology in the United States
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845:Natural history of Rhode Island
500:Geologic units in Rhode Island
486:. Accessed September 21, 2012.
468:. Collier Books. p. 348.
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381:Paleontology in Massachusetts
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254:continued the process of
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354:Paleontology portal
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69:. During the
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740:Pennsylvania
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317:College Hill
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273:Block Island
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237:protophasmid
229:neuropteroid
215:, a type of
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43:Rhode Island
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670:Mississippi
585:Connecticut
289:Pleistocene
246:During the
241:cockroaches
164:metamorphic
143:Precambrian
123:Pleistocene
107:rock record
91:Rift basins
87:cockroaches
829:Categories
785:Washington
705:New Mexico
700:New Jersey
575:California
458:References
334:Providence
305:Providence
269:Cretaceous
256:rift basin
207:arthropods
160:trilobites
137:Prehistory
111:Cretaceous
67:trilobites
39:U.S. state
33:refers to
795:Wisconsin
760:Tennessee
665:Minnesota
640:Louisiana
387:Footnotes
309:Pawtucket
281:Paleogene
219:, was an
200:sandstone
196:horsetail
192:Club moss
155:Paleozoic
131:trackways
115:Paleogene
79:arachnids
59:Paleozoic
780:Virginia
730:Oklahoma
710:New York
685:Nebraska
675:Missouri
660:Michigan
650:Maryland
635:Kentucky
615:Illinois
590:Delaware
580:Colorado
570:Arkansas
340:See also
293:glaciers
277:dinosaur
264:Jurassic
260:Triassic
221:arachnid
103:Jurassic
99:Triassic
800:Wyoming
775:Vermont
680:Montana
620:Indiana
600:Georgia
595:Florida
565:Arizona
555:Alabama
299:History
285:Neogene
252:Pangaea
248:Permian
180:streams
172:Pangaea
127:glacial
119:Neogene
95:Permian
83:insects
735:Oregon
690:Nevada
630:Kansas
605:Hawaii
560:Alaska
548:States
472:
184:swampy
176:Rivers
75:swampy
765:Texas
645:Maine
610:Idaho
225:genus
147:polar
85:like
770:Utah
725:Ohio
625:Iowa
470:ISBN
283:and
262:and
194:and
178:and
117:and
101:and
81:and
55:coal
141:No
63:sea
41:of
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