r/fossilid • • Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

716 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 • • 47m ago

Ocean Reptile?

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• Upvotes

I bought this for $50 from a vender at a local event. Appearently they go all over the place collecting fossils but primarily gemstones. I don't remember exactly what they told me but they said it was around 80 million years ago.


r/fossilid • • 11h ago

Found in Franklin Co. Tennessee on part of the Cumberland plateau. Help with id plz?

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71 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 3h ago

Teeth from a fossil grab bag

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12 Upvotes

Went to a rock and gem show this weekend and got a fossil paydirt bag for the kids. They had a blast digging through the dirt. It had a lot of brachiopods, crinoids, and shark teeth. I was wondering what these teeth are from.


r/fossilid • • 7h ago

Fireplace fossils

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22 Upvotes

Neighbor said we had fossils in our fireplaces in our neighborhood. Kids are beyond excited. Took a look at home this morning - what did we find?


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

First time fossil hunting, visiting Monroeville, PA. Did I find any?

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• Upvotes

Just visiting and looking around some exposed outcrops. Seems to be a pattern in the larger pieces but not sure if it’s just some kind of mineral staining?

Lower edge in the last pic— little black seed looking things? Are they fossilized seeds?


r/fossilid • • 9h ago

Lake Michigan Finds !

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23 Upvotes

any help Identifying these guys would be a great help to my curious mind! (ignore the cats hair )


r/fossilid • • 7h ago

New Melle, MO

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15 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 11h ago

Solved Did I finally find my first fossil?

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31 Upvotes

Found on a beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

Found in garden amongst crumbled limestone in Miami. Anything you can glean from this clam?

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• Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1h ago

Central Manitoba, Canada…can you help? I have a few guesses…

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• Upvotes

2 inches long, 1 cm wide

Found in central, Manitoba - Gilbert Plains

My best guesses would be…Treptoceras, Cephalopod, or a Crinoid?

Am I close at all?!?

Also, I have A LOT of fossils I’d like help IDing, what’s the best way to do this? Numerous photos in on post, or individually?

Thanks!!!! Excited to see your replies!


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

Shark vertebrae, what kind? Manitoba, Canada

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• Upvotes

I was told these are shark vert, I’m crispier what kind of shark and how long ago?

Central Manitoba, Gilbert Plains 🇨🇦

Approx 2cm by 1cm


r/fossilid • • 39m ago

Is this item a fossil or mineral?

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• Upvotes

Does anyone know what this item is? I purchased it on a whim at an antique shop in Fukui prefecture, Japan. The owner of the shop also had no idea what it was.


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Ice Age Mammalian Fossil?

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173 Upvotes

Found this very large bone while exploring a cave in a sinkhole plain in Missouri. It was found about 60 to 80 feet down in a pebble based stream bed with light mud covering it. Found on private land with land owners permission. Looking to ID what species it’s from. From the research I’ve been able to do I suspect it’s from the ice age. Weighs approximately 3 kg. 13 inches in length, 6 inches at its smallest diameter 10 inches in diameter at the largest part before the “knuckle”


r/fossilid • • 2h ago

I found this groove in a fossily rock but im not sure what it is.

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2 Upvotes

Its ordovician from cincinnati ohio.

my best guess is it could be a curled up trilobite or an orthocone but im not sure.


r/fossilid • • 8h ago

Found in Austria, Europe

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6 Upvotes

Went for a hike and found all that. I assume they were all snails?


r/fossilid • • 5h ago

Please help me id this (shark?) tooth

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3 Upvotes

Approximately 1 1/4 square inch size. Found oct 15 on beach amongst shells Guana River beach south . Just north of St Augustine Florida . I know nothing about it or how to id.


r/fossilid • • 12h ago

What is this tiny hexagonal marine fossil? (MD)

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11 Upvotes

I’m sorry for the picture quality, it’s an extremely tiny fossil. I’ve included a very rough sketch of the shape to help.

it’s a five sided pentagonal shape with a protruding dot in the middle and little hair-like lines that go outward along the sides. My guess is a crinoid stem that got buried vertically?

I found this rock full of fossilized shells when I was a child, it was partly sticking out of the ground. It always reminded me of bacteria (which I know it isn’t because it isn’t microscopic).

I know it’s a long shot, but I’ve been curious about this minuscule fossil since I was a child. I would have guessed coral, except for the fact that there’s only three of them grouped together.

Any ideas to point me in the right direction would be helpful :3


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

Found at Copper Ridge, UT

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• Upvotes

Is this a fossil?


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

I believe this is bone? Manitoba, Canada

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• Upvotes

It looks and feels like bone, but has a smooth area? I’m at a loss…

Central Manitoba, Gilbert Plains 🇨🇦

4cm by 2cm


r/fossilid • • 9h ago

Solved Found in Ontario

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4 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 3h ago

Deer in South Carolina.

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1 Upvotes

Bought this from a guy who said most of his stuff comes from the Cooper River in South Carolina. I figured "why not?", for $5. He said its some type of deer. Does anyone know the type?


r/fossilid • • 7h ago

Found along the Platte River in Denver

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 19h ago

Shark tooth fossil found off the Florida coast

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15 Upvotes

I’ve had this tooth for many years but have never figured out what species of shark it may belong to. A family friend found it on a scuba diving trip in Florida.


r/fossilid • • 11h ago

Plant Fossils?

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2 Upvotes

The first picture seems very clearly to be a leaf impression. I'm not sure the things in the second image are fossils at all.

I found these at the Joffre bridge site near Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. This site was a once prolific source of plant (and other) fossils from 60M years ago, but there's very little rock exposed there anymore.