List of the Cenozoic life of Virginia

This list of the Cenozoic life of Virginia contains the various prehistoric life-forms whose fossilized remains have been reported from within the US state of Virginia and are between 66 million and 10,000 years of age.

Living adult (center) and chick (lower right) Accipiter striatus , or sharp-shinned hawks
A living Actitis macularius , or spotted sandpiper
Fossilized skull of the Miocene baleen whale Aglaocetus
Fossilized skeleton of the Eocene pig-nosed turtle Allaeochelys
Assemblage of fossilized skeletons of the softshell turtle Amyda
Shell of an Anadara transversa , or transverse ark clam
Illustration of the shell of a living Anguispira alternata land snail, or flamed tigersnail
A living Anoxypristis cuspidata , or knifetooth sawfish
Restoration of an Arctodus , or short-faced bear, with a human to scale
A living Asio flammeus , or Short-eared owl
Multiple views of a fossilized shell of the volute sea snail Athleta
Fossilized vertebrae of the Pliocene baleen whale Balaenotus
Life restoration of the Pliocene toothed whale Bohaskaia
Fossilized skeleton of the Pleistocene-Holocene bovid Bootherium bombifrons , or Harlan's musk ox.
A living Bubo virginianus , or great horned owl
A living Anaxyrus fowleri (formerly Bufo fowleri ), or Fowler's toad
Shell in multiple views of a Busycon contrarium whelk
A living Buteo jamaicensis , or red-tailed hawk
A living Calliostoma top sea snail
Cambarus
Skeletons look identical
Modern mounted skeleton of Canis lupus , the grey wolf, to scale with a fossilized skeleton of the Pleistocene wolf Canis dirus , or dire wolf
Fossilized tooth of the Miocene-Pliocene shark Cosmopolitodus hastalis , or broad-toothed mako
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Pliocene-Pleistocene giant beaver Castoroides
Life restoration of the Miocene-Pliocene whale Cetotherium
A living Chelydra serpentina , or common snapping turtle
Shells of the Pliocene scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius
A living Chordeiles minor , or common nighthawk
A living Cliona sponge
Shells in differing orientations of Colus whelk sea snails
Shell of a Corbula basket clam
Fossil of the Early Cretaceous-Eocene shark Cretolamna
A living Cryptobranchus alleganiensis , or hellbender salamander
Shell of a Cucullaea , or false ark shell
Fossilized skeleton of the Eocene bony fish Cyclopoma
Fossilized cranium of the Miocene bear-dog Cynelos
Fossilized mandible in multiple views of the Pleistocene Dasypus bellus , or beautiful armadillo
A living Setophaga coronata , or yellow-rumped warbler
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Paleocene-Miocene crocodilian Diplocynodon
A living Discus catskillensis land snail, or angular disc
A living Dryocopus pileatus , or pileated woodpecker
Taxidermied male Ectopistes migratorius , or passenger pigeon
Life restoration of two of the Miocene baleen whale Eobalaenoptera pursued by the giant shark Carcharocles megalodon
A living Eschrichtius robustus , or gray whale
Life restoration of the Miocene whale Eurhinodelphis (above)
A living Falco sparverius , or American kestrel
A living Galeocerdo cuvier , or tiger shark
Fossilized skull of the Miocene crocodile relative Gavialosuchus
A living Ginglymostoma nurse shark
Fossilized shell of a Glycymeris , or bittersweet clam
A living Grus americana , or whooping crane
A living Halichoerus grypus , or grey seal
A living Hemipristis weasel shark
Fossilized skull of the Eocene tapir-like mammal Homogalax
A living Icterus spurius , or orchard oriole
A living Istiophorus , or sailfish
A living Junco hyemalis , or dark-eyed junco
Life restoration of the Oligocene-Miocene dolphin Kentriodon
Living Lagopus muta , or rock ptarmigan
A living Lepus americanus , or snowshoe hare
Pair of living Lontra canadensis , or North American river otter
A living Lynx rufus , or bobcat
Shell of a Limecola balthica , or Baltic clam
Life restorations of a Mammut americanum , or American mastodon (right), and a Mammuthus primigenius , or wooly mammoth (left)
A living Marmota monax , or groundhog
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene-Pleistocene ground sloth Megalonyx
Collection of Mercenaria mercenaria , also known as hard clams or quahogs
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene-Pleistocene manatee relative Metaxytherium
A living Microtus pinetorum , or woodland vole
A living Molothrus ater , or brown-headed cowbird
Fossilized skeleton of the Pliocene-Holocene peccary Mylohyus
A living Nassarius , or nassa mud snail
Close-up of a Neotoma floridana , or eastern woodrat
A living Nocomis raneyi , or bull chub
Close-up portrait of a living Notorynchus cepedianus , or broadnose sevengill shark
Illustration of a fossilized partial skull of the Paleocene-Eocene pseudo-toothed bird Odontopteryx
Life restoration of the Miocene sperm whale Orycterocetus
At the top of the picture is a line representing twenty meters. Below this is a gray megalodon silhouette that measures twenty meters, below is a red megalodon silhouette that measures fifteen meters, below is a violet whale shark silhouette that measures ten meters, below is a green great white shark that measures five meters. Standing next to this shark is a black human silhouette that stands two meters.
Diagram illustrating the largest (grey) and most conservative (red) size estimates of the Miocene-Pliocene shark Carcharocles megalodon (sometimes Carcharodon or Otodus megalodon ) with a whale shark (violet), great white shark (green), and anachronistic human (black) to scale
Restoration of the Cretaceous-Eocene sea snake Palaeophis
A living Panthera leo , or lion
Life restoration of the Miocene baleen whale Parietobalaena and calf
A living Passerella iliaca , or fox sparrow
Life restoration of the Oligocene-Pleistocene false-toothed bird Pelagornis
A living Perisoreus canadensis , or grey jay
A living Phalacrocorax auritus , or double-crested cormorant
Taxidermied specimen of Pinguinus impennis , or the great auk
Restoration of a herd of alarmed Miocene-Pleistocene peccaries of the genus Platygonus . Charles R. Knight (1922).
A living Podiceps auritus , or horned grebe
Hypothetical restoration of the Oligocene-Pliocene sea turtle Psephophorus
Fossilized skeleton of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene bony fish Pycnodus
A living Quercus , or oak tree
A living Rangifer tarandus , or reindeer
A school of living Rhinoptera , or cownose rays
A living Sayornis phoebe , or eastern phoebe
Fossilized skull of the Miocene toothed whale Schizodelphis
A living Sciurus carolinensis , or eastern gray squirrel
Fossilized teeth of the Cretaceous-Eocene shark Serratolamna
A living Sorex palustris , or American water shrew
A living Sphyrna hammerhead shark
Life restoration of the Oligocene-Miocene shark-toothed dolphin Squalodon
Fossilized teeth of the Paleocene-Miocene sandshark Striatolamia
A living Sylvilagus transitionalis , or New England cottontail
A living Tapirus , or tapir
Shell of a Tellina , or tellin
Fossilized skeleton of the Oligocene-Miocene gavial relative Thecachampsa
A school of living Thunnus , or tunas
A living Triodopsis tridentata land snail, or northern threetooth
Fossilized shells of the Late Jurassic-modern tower snail Turritella
A pair of living Uria aalge , or common murre
Fossilized skeleton of the Eocene bony fish Voltaconger
Fossilized skeleton of the Miocene whale Xiphiacetus
Illustration of the shell of a Yoldia limatula , or file yoldia
A living Zonotrichia albicollis , or white-throated sparrow