r/fossilid Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

703 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 14h ago

Belemnite in a brick? (The wall is in Warwickshire in UK but no idea where the stone was sourced from).

Thumbnail
gallery
129 Upvotes

Is this a belemnite in a brick? I hope it is because if it is then it's the biggest one I've ever found.

I should add that it's 52mm end-to-end.


r/fossilid 6h ago

What should I take better pictures of for value?

Thumbnail
gallery
25 Upvotes

I posted on here a few times now I just started working for an estate sale company. All this was found in disarray packed away. Other stuff was well taken care of. I just need some help focusing on the important stuff to help the original owner who is in need. Obviously there is petrified wood and megalodon teeth. But I don't know where to focus my energy as we only have a few days to help him out and this is just a very very small fraction of the items in the home. There a 1,000 other things that need to be researched. Any help is greatly appreciated. And just a heads up this doesn't help me at all. I do this part time for chump change and I'm not even getting paid to take the time to do this. This will ultimately help the person who hired the company the most as I said he's in need.


r/fossilid 5h ago

Mystery Box

Thumbnail
gallery
14 Upvotes

My son got a fossil mystery box at a rock and mineral show in AZ. I think one is a trilobite. Would like help with the mushroom and plant types.


r/fossilid 12h ago

Petrified wood or dinosaur bone?

Thumbnail
gallery
23 Upvotes

I found what I believe to be petrified wood but the pattern along the top in the second picture is different enough to give me pause- would love some second opinions!


r/fossilid 2h ago

Is this a fossil?

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

I found this near a stream bed in the Texas panhandle. Am I crazy or does it look like some sort of fossilized shell? I don't see any striations or patterns, but the shape just looks too conspicuous to be a normal rock.


r/fossilid 1d ago

Solved Fossil or not?

Thumbnail
gallery
2.1k Upvotes

Found on Saltburn Beach UK


r/fossilid 11h ago

Found in margarita sandstone near scotts valley California. I think this is bone

Thumbnail
gallery
20 Upvotes

I found this pretty small fragment of bone near a cluster of sand dollars and was wondering if there was any way to id?


r/fossilid 39m ago

Help ID this Megafauna vertebrae, I am thinking A Megalonyx or possibly a Eremotherium Caudal bone possibly

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Are these big bird footprints

Post image
169 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Solved Who are my tiny Lake Michigan friends?

Thumbnail
gallery
1.3k Upvotes

Hello! I would love help identifying these guys... I have some ideas, but it feels like all of my Google searches only show much larger sized fossils even if they are similar in shape to these! The screw shaped ones have been especially hard to find a match for.
I noticed a couple of pentagon shapes amidst the circles... last slide is showing one of those.
Thanks for any ideas!!


r/fossilid 24m ago

What mammal did this tooth belong to? Found in Andalusia Alabama

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

r/fossilid 48m ago

What did I find in Cadzand?

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Good morning! I found this one thing that feels like a fossil and looks like a fossil on the beach in Cadzand, Netherlands, where I was looking for shark teeth (of which I found exactly one…) but I can’t seem to ID this thing?


r/fossilid 5h ago

Found in Park City, UT

Post image
2 Upvotes

It was with landscaping stones though so could have came from else where.


r/fossilid 13h ago

Found on beach in South Caroline. What is this?

Thumbnail
gallery
9 Upvotes

r/fossilid 6h ago

Rock-like material, oyster-like shape found near Vancouver beach

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

Will probably also post in r/RockID. Not sure what this is - the shape and size is very oyster shell but the material and colour are very rock.

Found at Wreck Beach.


r/fossilid 11h ago

Fossil or not?

Thumbnail
gallery
6 Upvotes

Found in Brighton and Hove, UK.


r/fossilid 3h ago

Can someone help me identify this letter I shaped creature? Found in Mazon-Braidwood site 11.

Post image
1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 10h ago

Is this a Sperm whale tooth?

Thumbnail
gallery
4 Upvotes

Found this over the weekend in Charleston,SC. Found in a deposit with several mako teeth.

It is 100% fossilized bone as it has the structure. It seems very likely it’s a sperm whale tooth but just want confirmation.


r/fossilid 7h ago

Any guess of whereabouts this guys could be from? Mixed provenance chances are there

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

non tagged box, just ammonites writeen on the side and all this matrixes inside. Europe based


r/fossilid 8h ago

Possible bone?

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

Hello all. I found these along the Bouie River in Hattiesburg,MS. Crinoids and maybe coral but not sure what else


r/fossilid 4h ago

Finger Lakes, NY, USA. Found in the creek

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 15h ago

is this a fossil? anyone can name it?

Thumbnail
gallery
6 Upvotes

both sides have “S” line in the middle. looks like a sandwich.


r/fossilid 5h ago

What is this? about the size of a quarter. found on myrtle beach

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 11h ago

Found in comox valley bc

Thumbnail gallery
3 Upvotes