In 1993, paleontologists found fossil remains of a creature at Red Hill near Hyner in Clinton County. Now, a group from a nearby high school hopes Pennsylvania recognizes the finding as the state fossil.
“The name means a creeping monster from Hyner," explained McKenna Bissman, before graduating in June from Bucktail High School in Clinton County.
Bissman was talking about the Hynerpeton bassetti, an extinct four-legged vertebrate. Thought to be two to five feet long, it lived in the waters during the late Devonian period some 360 million years ago.
“It was found right here in Hyner, PA, at Red Hill," she said. "And it just shows that we're not just a small town. We have really cool things if you just come looking.”
Bissman and other students in an ecology class and student government have worked to get the state to recognize the Hynerpeton as Pennsylvania’s state fossil. To do that, they did research, went to Harrisburg, met with legislators and made a video, with a section narrated by Lola English: “It was the first four-limbed vertebrate animal from the Devonian period, and it was found in the U.S. It's possibly the first to have lost its gills and developed lungs. It showed the transition from water to land."
English, who also just graduated and is headed to Penn State, noted that Pennsylvania’s current fossil — a trilobite — can be found in other parts of North America. But not the Hynerpeton.
“It was found only here," she said. "This is the only known location that it's been found. So we want to make it special and make it known that this is an interesting and rare thing that was found in our small town."
Beth Whitty, the community development and housing coordinator for Clinton County, is from Renovo and worked with the students and their science teacher, Joshua Day, on the project.
Whitty pointed out that, unlike the current state fossil, the Hynerpeton was found only in Pennsylvania.
“It was discovered here," she said. "It's named for a village in Pennsylvania. How much more Pennsylvanian can you get?"
And, she said, the Hynerpeton is known for having strong shoulders and being resilient.
“He moved from water onto land," she said. "He had to have those strong shoulders to move on and search for food. Those are wonderful attributes for a Pennsylvania symbol.”
In November 2025 the state Senate unanimously passed legislation, sponsored by Senator Cris Dush, whose district includes Clinton County, to recognize the Hynerpeton as Pennsylvania’s fossil. Now Whitty, Day and the students are hoping the state House passes it in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
Day said the students have learned about the process of checks and balances in government.
“We've seen support on both sides, but currently it's just sort of stuck and we're hoping it gets a nudge to get it pushed along and have a vote happen before America's 250th birthday on July 4th," Day said.
The bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee, which state Rep. Scott Conklin, whose district includes part of Centre County, is chairman of.
"Over 3,500 bills have been introduced this session and only 17 have made it to the governor's desk," Conklin said. "I like others wish more bills could be signed into law. With luck we'll be able to get the budget passed and more bills like this one will be put into law."
