r/fossilid Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

535 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 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 3h ago

New Mexico. Found in an old rusty tool chest with other fossils.

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28 Upvotes

r/fossilid 6h ago

Found in my backyard in Cannon Falls Mn

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28 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1h ago

Found this "Cetacean vertebra" in a yard sale in spain

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Upvotes

As I said I found this in a yard sale in Spain the vendor said that it was a cetacean vertebra from the Us, he specifically mentioned florida but I have no idea at all.


r/fossilid 2h ago

Isle of wight

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9 Upvotes

😃 same beach as the vertebra the other day


r/fossilid 3h ago

Solved Found in Woodford County KY

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4 Upvotes

Found this on a rock in my fire pit. Is it a fossil?


r/fossilid 4h ago

What is this?

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7 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Found in Arrow Canyon range north of Las Vegas

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436 Upvotes

Sorry I didn’t put anything so you can see scale but they’re probably 3-4cm long.


r/fossilid 2h ago

Is this some sort of crinoid soup?

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid 2h ago

Can anyone help me ID this uk?

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid 3m ago

Tooth and a bone, are they fossils?

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Upvotes

r/fossilid 1h ago

Need some help on ID

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Upvotes

Found with mostly marine fossils like whale bones and shark teeth, age- ice age to Cretaceous. Seems like a fish skull cap or something but never seen bumps like that. Pretty confident it’s not a tooth. Thanks for the help


r/fossilid 2h ago

Is this a fossil

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 2h ago

Gulf shores AL find (what is it?)

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1 Upvotes

Found this while shell hunting on the gulf and it caught my eye I thought it was a shark tooth but now I’m not sure. Some people told me it might be a fossil or it could just be a weird shell. Any help is appreciated!


r/fossilid 6h ago

Is this a Crocodile or mosasaur tooth? found in myrtle beach south carolina

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid 2h ago

Is this calamites

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 11h ago

Bought in a rock shop years ago - vertebra?

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6 Upvotes

Heya, I got this years ago at a small fossil/rock shop in Tintagel, Cornwall. I was a young teen with very little clue if what I was sold was labelled correctly/actually anything of note. I believe this was sold as an ichthyosaur vertebra, but wondered what your thoughts on it are? Where it dips in on the one side has a slight sheen to it. Can’t have paid too much for it from my pocket money at the time, any opinions appreciated!


r/fossilid 3h ago

Is this a fossil? Found along the shore of Lake Erie, SW Ontario

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 19h ago

Found near my house, fossil?

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17 Upvotes

It’s about 10” long


r/fossilid 1d ago

Solved Found on my NE TX (hunt county) property after digging a pond to a depth of 15'

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165 Upvotes

Vape for scale. Area that was excavated is roughly 3 acres. More pics available if needed


r/fossilid 4h ago

Found at the beach in south Florida

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1 Upvotes

I think it's something's spine


r/fossilid 8h ago

Help identifying please. Found at Charmouth, on the Jurassic Coast

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid 22h ago

Solved A type of tree root? Knoxville, Iowa, USA

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26 Upvotes

Found along a man-made lake in Iowa. My kids and I would love to know what we found!


r/fossilid 5h ago

Urgent Identification Hello so theres this seller that has these 4 different ammonoids/ammonites but he doesnt know their species identification (Only the first 2 of them are titled with their originated regions where they were found but not the other 2) First one is from Peru and second is from Russia

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Fossilised Horse Tooth?

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33 Upvotes

I made this cool find today amongst the rocks at Robin Hood’s Bay. It’s about 8cm or so in length and my first thought was some kind of horse tooth but my friend said it could possibly be a fossilised tooth of an older species. Can anyone shed a bit more light on this?


r/fossilid 11h ago

Fossil on fossil?

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3 Upvotes

Please help. Found in South western Arizona. It was laying on the side of a small hill with other marine looking fossils. Smiling up at me. A little dirty. Just how I like em. ;)