DACF Home → Bureaus & Programs → Maine Geological Survey → Explore Maine Geology → Fossils → Remains of Life → Fossils in Bedrock → Dinosaurs
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Where are the dinosaurs??Unfortunately there is a significant gap in Maine's fossil record from approximately 360 million years ago to about 1 million years ago (see geologic time scale below). This gap is most likely the result of episodes of mountain-building and erosion which removed the rocks formed during this time period. Most recently, continental glaciers scoured the landscape, removing more sediment and rock. While this erosion was helpful in exposing the older, Paleozoic rocks, it completely removed all of the Mesozoic material and a large portion of the Cenozoic record. So, while it is quite likely that dinosaurs inhabited the area that became Maine, their remains will probably never be found here. |
Blue boxes indicate time periods for which Maine has a fossil record. Fossils from the Holocene and Pleistocene are preserved in sediments. Fossils from the Cambrian through Devonian Periods are preserved in bedrock. |
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| Geologic Time Scale | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Era | Period | Age (millions of years) |
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| CENOZOIC | Holocene | ||
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|
0.01 | ||
| Pleistocene | |||
|
|
1.8 | ||
| Tertiary | |||
|
|
65 | ||
| MESOZOIC | Cretaceous | AGE OF THE DINOSAURS |
|
|
|
146 | ||
| Jurassic | |||
|
|
208 | ||
| Triassic | |||
|
|
245 | ||
| PALEOZOIC | Permian | ||
|
|
286 | ||
| Pennsylvanian | |||
|
|
325 | ||
| Missippian | |||
|
|
360 | ||
| Devonian | |||
|
|
417 | ||
| Silurian | |||
|
|
440 | ||
| Ordovician | |||
|
|
505 | ||
| Cambrian | |||
|
|
545 | ||
More links to dinosaurs:
Dinosaur links from the University of California Museum of Paleontology
Last updated on September 19, 2013