This list of the prehistoric life of Michigan contains the various prehistoric life-forms whose fossilized remains have been reported from within the US state of Michigan.
The Paleobiology Database records no known occurrences of Precambrian fossils in Michigan.
Selected Paleozoic taxa of Michigan
- †Acidaspis
- †Actinoceras
- †Alethopteris
Fossil of the Carboniferous horsetail relative Annularia - †Athyris
- †Atrypa
- †Aulopora
- †Bellerophon
- †Calamites
- †Callixylon
- †Calymene
- †Camarotoechia
Fossil of the Middle-Late Ordovician trilobite Ceraurus - †Chonetes
- †Climacograptus
- †Columnaria
- †Cordaites
- †Cornulites
- †Cornulites corrugatus
- †Cornulites flexuosus
- †Cornulites sterlingensis – or unidentified comparable form
- †Cyclonema
- †Cyrtolites
- †Eldredgeops
- †Encrinurus
- †Endoceras
- †Erieopterus
- †Favosites
Flexicalymene enrolled - †Flexicalymene croneisi
- †Flexicalymene magnipapilla – type locality for species
- †Flexicalymene meeki – or unidentified comparable form
- †Flexicalymene planilabra – type locality for species
- †Flexicalymene praelongicephala – type locality for species
- †Flexicalymene quadricapita – type locality for species
- †Flexicalymene senaria
- †Gilbertsocrinus
- †Girvanella
- †Grewingkia
- †Hallopora
- †Halysites
Fossil of the Devonian colonial rugose coral Hexagonaria, also known as a Petoskey stone - †Hindia
- †Holopea
- †Icriodus
- †Isotelus
- †Lepidodendron
- †Lepidostrobus
- †Lingula
- †Maelonoceras
- †Meristella
Fossilized shell of the Devonian brachiopod Mucrospirifer - †Murchisonia
- †Naticopsis
Fronds of the Carboniferous seed fern Neuropteris - †Neuropteris caudata
- †Neuropteris dilitata
- †Neuropteris flexuosa
- †Neuropteris gigntea – tentative report
- †Neuropteris harrisi – or unidentified comparable form
- †Neuropteris heterophylla – or unidentified comparable form
- †Neuropteris obliqua
- †Neuropteris rarinervis
- †Neuropteris saginawensis
- †Neuropteris scheuchzeri
- †Neuropteris Schlehani
- †Neuropteris tenuifolia
- †Nodonema
- †Nowakia
- †Nuculoidea
- †Ogygites
- †Oncoceras
- †Orthoceras
- †Panenka
- †Paraspirifer
- †Pecopteris
- †Pentamerus
- †Phragmolites
- †Plaesiomys
Fossilized shell of the Silurian-Early Triassic sea snail Platyceras - †Platystrophia
- †Platystrophia acutilirata
- †Platystrophia annieana
- †Platystrophia clarkesvillensis
- †Platystrophia clarksvillensis
- †Platystrophia cypha – or unidentified related form
- †Platystrophia moritura
- †Pleurodictyum
- †Polygnathus
Restoration of the Silurian trilobite Proetus - †Samaropsis
- †Scenella – tentative report
- †Scutellum
- †Sigillaria
- †Sphenophyllum
- †Sphenopteris
- †Spirifer – report made of unidentified related form or using admittedly obsolete nomenclature
- †Spyroceras
Life restorations of a male (foreground) and female (background) of the Late Devonian-Carboniferous Chimaera relative Stethacanthus - †Stigmaria
- †Stigmatella
- †Strophomena
- †Strophomena alpenensis
- †Strophomena costata
- †Strophomena crassa
- †Strophomena elongata
- †Strophomena erratica
- †Strophomena extenuata
- †Strophomena heteromys
- †Strophomena huronensis
- †Strophomena inaequiradiata
- †Strophomena levidensa
- †Strophomena neglecta
- †Strophomena nutans – or unidentified comparable form
- †Strophomena parvula
- †Strophomena pentagonia
- †Strophomena planumbona
- †Strophomena potterensis
- †Strophomena sulcata
- †Strophomena tenuicosta
- †Strophomena titan
- †Syringopora
- †Tentaculites
- †Tetradium
Restoration showing the top (left) and underside of the Late Ordovician trilobite Triarthrus
The Paleobiology Database records no known occurrences of Mesozoic fossils in Michigan.
- Abies
- Acer
- †Achnanthes
A living Alces, or moose - Alnus
- †Ambrosia
- Amnicola
- †Amphora
- Anodonta
- †Anodonta grandis – or unidentified comparable form
- Aplodinotus
- †Aplodinotus grunniens – or unidentified comparable form
- †Armiger
- †Artemesia
- †Artemisia
- Aythya
- †Bakerilymnea
- Betula
- Bufo
A living Anaxyrus americanus (formerly Bufo americanus), or American toad
- Candona
- Canis
- Carya
- Carychium
- Castor
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Pliocene-Pleistocene giant beaver Castoroides - †Catinella
- †Catostomus
- †Cervalces
- †Cionella
- Clethrionomys
- †Columella
- †Cymbella
- †Cytherissa
- Dicrostonyx
- Discus
- Dryopteris
- Esox
Illustration of a living Esox lucius, or northern pike
- Ferrissia
- Fossaria
- †Fragilaria
- †Fragillaria
- †Fraxinus
- Grus
A living Grus americana, or whooping crane
- Gryaulus
- Gyraulus
- Helisoma
- Hendersonia
- Juglans
- Larix
- Lemmus
- †Lemmus trimucronatus – or unidentified comparable form
- Limnocythere
- Lioplax
- †Lioplax suculosa – or unidentified comparable form
- Lycopodium
- Lymnaea
- †Mammut
- †Mammuthus
- †Mammuthus columbi
Life restorations of a Mammut americanum, or American mastodon (right), and a Mammuthus primigenius, or wooly mammoth (left)
- Meleagris
- Microtus
- Mictomys
- Mustela
- †Navicula
- Odocoileus
A living Odocoileus virginianus, or white-tailed deer
- Ondatra
- Ostrya
- †Pediastrum
- Perca
- Peromyscus
- Physella
- Picea
- Pinus
- Pisidium
- †Planorbella
Restoration of a herd of alarmed Miocene-Pleistocene peccaries of the genus Platygonus. Charles R. Knight (1922). - †Pomoxis – or unidentified comparable form
- Populus
- †Probythinella
- Pteridium
- Pungitius
- †Pungitius pungitius – or unidentified comparable form
- Quercus
- †Rana
Rangifer - Salix
- †Selaginella
- †Shepherdia
- Sorex
- Sphaerium
- Sphagnum
- Stagnicola
- †Thalictrum
- †Thuja
- Tilia
- †Tsuga
- Typha
- Ulmus
- Ursus
A living Ursus americanus, or American black bear
- Vallonia
- Valvata
- Vertigo
- †Vertigo alpestris
- †Vertigo elatior
- †Vertigo gouldi – or unidentified comparable form
- †Vertigo hannai
- †Vertigo modesta
- †Vertigo morsei
- †Vertigo ovata
- †Vertigo paradoxa
Leaves and fruit of a living Vitis, or grapevine - Zapus
- †Zapus hudsonius – or unidentified comparable form
- Zonitoides
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.