r/fossilid Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

702 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 7h ago

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

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72 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 1d ago

Solved Fossil or not?

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2.0k Upvotes

Found on Saltburn Beach UK


r/fossilid 5h ago

Petrified wood or dinosaur bone?

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19 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 4h ago

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

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13 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 1d ago

Solved Who are my tiny Lake Michigan friends?

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1.2k 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 17h ago

Are these big bird footprints

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99 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1h ago

I Do Not Know What This Is. please help!!! No clue if it is a fossil.

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Upvotes

I’m a conservation lab associate doing fieldwork trips on the west coast collecting sand and water from beaches. At some point I found this in Oregon or Washington. I have no clue what it is! Please help. It is 1.75 inches long and just about an inch at the widest point.


r/fossilid 3h ago

Is this a Sperm whale tooth?

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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 4h ago

Fossil or not?

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4 Upvotes

Found in Brighton and Hove, UK.


r/fossilid 7h ago

is this a fossil? anyone can name it?

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7 Upvotes

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


r/fossilid 1h ago

Possible bone?

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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

Found in comox valley bc

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid 4h ago

Possible fossil bone? Lyme Regis in Dorset.

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid 5h ago

Found on the beach on isle of palms south carolina

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid 3h ago

Found in Ostrava, Czechia. Plant imprint?

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2 Upvotes

I was fossil hunting in old mine waste dump. The rocks are carboniferous. This one was on a slope near a bicycle path and tramway. Oddly really smooth from both sides.


r/fossilid 6h ago

Is this a fossilized tooth? Found on beach in DE, USA.

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3 Upvotes

Hi, I found this when sifting in the sand for tiny pebbles at a beach in Delaware, USA. It’s about 1 1.7 cm long and 1 cm wide (at the widest point). Let me know if you need any other info to make an ID. Thanks!


r/fossilid 6h ago

Found on beach in South Caroline. What is this?

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Found by my great grandfather in County Galway, Ireland

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139 Upvotes

Hello all! Posting here because someone on r/artifacts suggested. The title says it all! My great grandfather found this while plowing their family farm in the early 1960s. Any idea what it could be? It has been a family mystery lol. Feels and looks like stone. If not some kind of deliberately made tool, thinking maybe a geological something or weathered stone? Any opinions? Obviously I’d love for it to be some prehistoric tool but nothing like it exists so i don’t have a clue. Thanks!


r/fossilid 30m ago

some sort of vertebra?

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Upvotes

Some sort of large-ish vertebra found in a river bed in Upstate NY, i assumed it’s a fish of some sorts such as a sturgeon but im not too sure. It’s about the size of my palm, slightly shorter. I don’t have any other photos as of now but i may be able to get some different angles.


r/fossilid 1h ago

Brigantine Beach Nj

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Upvotes

What is it?


r/fossilid 2h ago

Found in dolomites

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1 Upvotes

Any idea what this could be?


r/fossilid 21h ago

Found on beach in San Clemente, CA

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30 Upvotes

i believe this is a prehistoric whale vertebrae. found this morning on a beach in San Clemente, CA. any help identifying is appreciated!


r/fossilid 22h ago

Found by Chillicothe River near Peoria, Illinois. What is this?

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38 Upvotes

r/fossilid 3h ago

Found in NW Michigan

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1 Upvotes

I assume it’s some sort of coral?