The following is a list of state symbols of the U.S. state of Mississippi, as defined by state statutes in Title 1, Section 3 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 and listed in the Mississippi Official & Statistical Register.[1][2]

Insignia

Further information: List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insignia
Type Symbol Date Image
Flag Flag of Mississippi
 2021[3]
Seal Seal of Mississippi 2014[4] Seal of Mississippi
Coat of arms Coat of arms of Mississippi 2001[5] Coat of arms of Mississippi
Motto Virtute et armis (Latin for "By valor and arms")
Nicknames The Magnolia State, The Hospitality State

Flora

Type Symbol Date Image
Flower Magnolia
Tree Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

Fauna

Type Symbol Date Image
Bird Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1944[6]
Butterfly Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) 1991[7]
Fish Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) 1974[8]
Fossil Prehistoric whales (Basilosaurus cetoides and Zygorhiza kochii) 1981[9]
Insect Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) 1980[10]
Land Mammals White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) 1974[11][2]
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 1997[2]
Marine mammal Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) 1974[11]
Waterfowl Wood duck (Aix sponsa) 1974[12]
Reptile American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) 1987[13]
Shell Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) 1974

Other

Type Symbol Date Image
Dance Square dance 1995[14]
Soil Natchez silt loam 2003[15]
Song "Go, Mississippi" 1962[2]
Stone Petrified wood 1976
Toy Teddy bear 2003[16]

References

  1. ^ "State of Mississippi Symbols". Mississippi.gov. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "State Symbols" (PDF). Blue Book. Mississippi Secretary of State. 2004. p. 34.
  3. ^ "Mississippi Ballot Measure 3: Voters approve magnolia design as new state flag". CNN. 4 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act". February 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
  5. ^ Clark, Eric. "The Government of Mississippi: How it Functions". Archived from the original on 2021-09-12.
  6. ^ "Mississippi State Bird". Mississippi State Bird: Mockingbird. SHG Resources.
  7. ^ State Symbols Archived 2009-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, p. 4. Office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi. Retrieved 2008-03-29
  8. ^ "State symbols". Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  9. ^ Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi (PDF), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 1991, retrieved 2019-05-09
  10. ^ State Symbols Archived 2009-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, p. 4. Office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi.
  11. ^ a b Shearer, Benjamin F. & Barbara S. Shearer. State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. 235.
  12. ^ "Mississippi State Symbols, Emblems, and Mascots". SHG Resources.
  13. ^ Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara S. (1994). State names, seals, flags, and symbols (2nd ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-28862-3. p. 313
  14. ^ "§ 3-3-39. State dance", Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated, retrieved 2020-07-20
  15. ^ "§ 3-3-45. State soil", Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated, retrieved 2020-07-20
  16. ^ "§ 3-3-43. State toy", Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated, retrieved 2020-07-20
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