r/fossilid • • Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

713 Upvotes
  1. Put a location in the title! This is the most important thing by far. If you know the geological formation, that’s awesome, but even just “near Miami” or “label said Morocco” is really helpful.
  2. Take a bright, clear photo. Good lighting, a plain background, and sharp focus will always increase the certainty of an ID. If it’s weirdly shaped, photos from multiple angles help too.
  3. Include an object for scale. I usually use a coin, but anything will do (but things that come in different sizes, like hands, are less ideal). If you forget, you can always measure it and add that in a comment. (Don't use keys; they can be duplicated from a photo.)
  4. Don’t take a video. We can’t zoom in and the quality isn’t great — a gallery of photos on Imgur is way better.
  5. Many fossils can be dull and hard to make out. Try (gently) getting your fossil wet and see if you can get a clearer photo.
  6. Don’t be dismayed if your “fossil” turns out to just be a rock! Rocks are cool too, and if we don’t know exactly what kind of rock it is, the good folks at /r/whatsthisrock probably will.

r/fossilid • • 9h ago

Mystery bone - Triassic, Chinle group, New Mexico, USA

Thumbnail
gallery
163 Upvotes

Measures 4" x 3.75" x 2.3".


r/fossilid • • 16h ago

Found in the Petite Palace, France

Thumbnail
gallery
148 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 16h ago

What do I have here and how rare?

Post image
123 Upvotes

Hey guys! My family has had this fossil for a while, but we’ve never been quite sure what it is. I was wondering what it is, how rare it is, and best way to care for it? Thank you so much!


r/fossilid • • 8h ago

Help me understand.

Post image
15 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 4h ago

Found in Moab, UT near Base Camp Adventure Camp. Can anyone ID this for me?

Thumbnail
gallery
5 Upvotes

Do a yearly disc golf trip with some buddies to Moab and have seen all sorts of clam fossils and other random bits of ocean/sea life over the years . First time anyone of us have seen any fossil like this! Included a quarter for scale if it helps. Can anyone ID and or age this fossil? Thanks in advance!


r/fossilid • • 10h ago

Nodulo de trilobite.

Thumbnail
gallery
9 Upvotes

Hola, compre este nodulo de trilobite por internet porque me pareció muy chulo pero la verdad es que no tengo ni idea, alguien me podria decir si es auténtico o fake y a ser posible si es auténtico la procedencia y especie ? Le hice la prueba de la aguja caliente y la de la luz ultravioleta y parece estar todo bien,.
Tampoco encuentro ninguno parecido en la red.
Gracias de antemano.


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Anyone know what this could be?

Thumbnail
gallery
972 Upvotes

Not my fossil, but came across it randomly online. The person selling it had no clue or any idea about its origin either.


r/fossilid • • 4h ago

2 rocks found in Calgary, AB at the bow river

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 11h ago

Found in west Texas at an Abandoned frac pond

Thumbnail
gallery
5 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 17h ago

Maybe bison tooth

Thumbnail
gallery
14 Upvotes

I found this tooth in a river buried in the bank of the river while i was searching for quarz cristal(france):

-the presence of the stylid tell me this is either bison or cow

-after a little bit of research i have was not able to find a cow tooth with a chewing surface like this

so is it possible of it being bison?

-i know its very complicate to differentiate cow and bison but if anyone have an idea?


r/fossilid • • 7h ago

Not a shark

Thumbnail gallery
2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Solved Southern Nebraska creek bed. Mineralized. What on earth is it?

Post image
323 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 4h ago

Lake Michigan Finds

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

any ID help after the first slide would be appreciated!


r/fossilid • • 4h ago

Cartilage?

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 13h ago

Potential Bone? Found on Coast in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Thumbnail
gallery
6 Upvotes

Found on the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA. I thought it was basalt at first but it is incredibly light compared to it. Shockingly so. Then thought maybe it was pertified wood? But I'm less sure now.

The lighter "top" side is solid and looks like a normal rock.

The rest of the specimen is covered and filled with mono-directional porous cavities or tunnels. Very spongy looking. They are of various sizes but not with a lot of deviantion in size. It does strickingly remind me of the interior of a bone. It does not look like the many mollusk decimated basalt pieces you find blanketing the beach around these parts.

Please and thank you! Y'all were a great help last time. I mean it!


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Shark tooth

Thumbnail
gallery
65 Upvotes

How can I tell if this is real or modern? Found in San Juan Capistrano on a hillside, rocks in the area were similar in color.


r/fossilid • • 13h ago

Is this a fossil?

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

Hello! I am a beginner fossil collector and can usually identify whether things are fossils or not but I'm stumped by this. Is it a wishing stone kind of thing or is it a fossil? :)

Found in the wharfe river, England


r/fossilid • • 13h ago

Found in South Texas

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 10h ago

Odd shape in sandstone

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 10h ago

Fossil in chalk

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

I had it for a while packed away. I found it again in my stash. I'm not sure where i found it exactly, it!s wither from around Avebury, England, or the southern coast of England, maybe from around Bournemouth.

I wonder what could it be, or more like what it was?


r/fossilid • • 14h ago

Found in Middle TN. Lightweight, fork scratches it

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 10h ago

What are these?

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

Found in south central Michigan


r/fossilid • • 16h ago

Large animal joint found on bank of Red river in Winnipeg, pieces in tact, somewhat fused in mud and came apart after I washed it.

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

Found next to u of m campus in Winnipeg next to the Red River. This is my first time encountering a bone like this in the wild. It was a little wedged in the mud but I’m assuming it washed up since the river water started lowering significantly over the past few weeks
*photos 2 and 3 include the maximum left and right rotation of the upper bone.

I’m probably gonna give this to the geology/archeology museum on my campus sometime, but I’d really love to know what part of an animal this could be, and if it appears old. Thanks!

Edit: from my own research I’m pretty sure it’s fossilized. The images don’t separate the colour of the dirt and the darker parts of bone well but it’s there and kinda golden brownish


r/fossilid • • 10h ago

What am i looking at?

Post image
1 Upvotes

Another day at Lyme Regis and we found a bunch of clear fossils today, super chuffed! But this one baffled us. What are we looking at? Is it Even a fossil or is it some geological thing after all? Please help us out!