r/fossilid • • Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

715 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 • • 22h ago

What is this my dad found in Appalachian Mountains?

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486 Upvotes

My Dad found this about 15 years ago while hiking or hunting one. But he was always sure it was a fossil of some ocean creature. Let me know what you all think it is bc I have no idea.


r/fossilid • • 23h ago

Lake Michigan Fossilized Seed ?

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99 Upvotes

is this a fossilized seed of some kind or am i crazy - it , to my best knowledge, seems to be solid stone


r/fossilid • • 20h ago

Found on a rocky beach in New Hampshire

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43 Upvotes

I thought it was a sand dollar at first, but then realized it’s a rock. Any information would be amazing. Thank you


r/fossilid • • 21m ago

Upstate NY - probably near Sleepy Hollow

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• Upvotes

Found the fossils I collected from distant relative's farm (and creek) when I was 10. It was somewhere near Sleepy Hollow, NY.

  1. Is this a filled-in footprint?

  2. Mold fossil of shells?

3 & 4. What is the strange clawed shape?

Thank you for any comments or ideas. My kids are asking questions - and I'm stuck.

Much appreciation for your expertise.


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

South Carolina creek find. Oligocene/Eocene. Thoughts? 8 photos at end of video.

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• Upvotes

VERY SMOOTH


r/fossilid • • 1h ago

Found somewhere in the western US + Florida

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• Upvotes

This was found at a private dig site consisting of nothing but the good stuff from all across the western US + Florida. Another person found the other half of it and we both don't know what it is and I'm very curious to find out. It has a pointed edge on the side


r/fossilid • • 15h ago

Found this on a walk a while back

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14 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 4h ago

Fossil that I found hiking

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 13h ago

Had this for years and can’t remember where I find it, I think it was coastal in England. Any ideas what it could be?

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4 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 16h ago

Found in Cranbrook BC.

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6 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1d ago

River find from earlier today! Manatee County, Fl

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1.1k Upvotes

Still quite shaky over finding this huge tooth! Just curious if it's possible to tell if this isn't an upper or lower tooth and would love any advice on preserving it or if that is something I should leave to someone more experienced in preservation. It is very fragile, missing some of the chewing surface and unfortunately a small piece broke off when my shovel hit it. It is roughly 13" long and has 13 plates.

I am afraid to handle it too much so the photos aren't great.


r/fossilid • • 19h ago

Is this a bison or cow metatarsal?

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5 Upvotes

Purchased in Minnesota, unsure where it originated. It’s quite solid/heavy. There is some surface chipping- how can I best preserve it? I haven’t licked it or done any testing on it.


r/fossilid • • 23h ago

Lots of seemingly ammonites in my building's floor tiles. Are there more things in there too?

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9 Upvotes

Some time ago I noticed that the tiles at the entrance of my block were absolutely teeming with these rocky critters.

I thought on posting these to see if the fossil freaks could find some interesting details and things that I haven't noticed yet, so have fun looking at them!

Most of them are around the size of a coin, but a few ones could get up to 10x times bigger or even more.

Location: the floor is in northem Andalusia, Spain. I believe that the place of origin of the tiles is there too, as the sea of Thetis used to flood that region


r/fossilid • • 16h ago

Coaledo formation, Cape Arago, Oregon

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 18h ago

Solved What am I looking at here?

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4 Upvotes

Found this a while back! Never really found out what it is… any ideas? And sorry this was the only photo I could find when I still had it in the matrix..


r/fossilid • • 23h ago

What is this?

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7 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Solved What do I have here? Eastern North Carolina, US

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180 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Shark Tooth ID

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7 Upvotes

This was given to me by my grandmother way back in the early 70s. Just wondering what type of shark and how old it could possibly be.


r/fossilid • • 18h ago

Shenandoah Valley Limestone/Clay Find - Seed?

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2 Upvotes

Been excavating around one or more Limestone shelves, and from a probe hole i dug, this shape stood out.

I have a strong belief that Limestone from this spot has dissolved away over time to become much of the Clay beneath. I've found enough variety of stone nearby to suggest some washing down/collapse in a ~4' radius of this spot. At the depth of this fossil i also picked out an extremely dark blue piece of Limestone, darker and harder than any ive excavated so far. Thoughts? TIA


r/fossilid • • 22h ago

Is it possible to ID the type of trilobite this is and likely country of origin?

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 22h ago

Help identify larger pieces

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2 Upvotes

Hi all. Not the most aesthetically pleasing, but I pulled this out of shale in a southern Ohio creekbed. I believe there is some bryozoan in here but what else is notable?


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

I think I found a chunk of a fossil in the parkinglot. Can anyone confirm it's a fossil?

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3 Upvotes

Found this in El Paso, TX, in a parking lot that used river rock for landscaping. I don't imagine there's enough here to identify what it came from, just wondering if it's a fossil. It feels light for a rock, and it felt kind of tacky after I washed it.


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Is this a fossil of sorts?

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3 Upvotes

This is a rock I found off of rt 24 in Utah, outside of Capitol Reef np, north of the Fremont river near the entrance to Cathedral Valley.

The matrix rock is grainy. The inclusions are tubular, raised, hard, smooth, waxy, and translucent in parts. They have banding that follows the boundary of the inclusion.

The last photo is of a naturally broken face in the rock.

Picture is of wet rock.

What could it be?

Happy to answer any questions that might help in ID.


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Found between rocks of lebanons beach

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6 Upvotes

What is it, i am certain its a tooth not a fossil but what animal is it from if someone knows

Thanks u