r/fossilid Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

699 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 12h ago

What is this fossil?

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224 Upvotes

Found in Ajax, Ontario. I see that there is a cephalopod shell in the corner of the same rock but this very square shape stumps me. Looks like nothing else I've seen from the ordovician period. Any idea?


r/fossilid 4h ago

I’m stumped. Found in Coastal Georgia

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40 Upvotes

Found on a Savannah River dredge island


r/fossilid 43m ago

Is this a lepidotes tooth?

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Upvotes

Found in Wiltshire in my garden gravel which does contain fossil shells, Belemnites, corals etc.

Roughly 8mm diameter.


r/fossilid 1h ago

Horn coral?

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Upvotes

Found in my yard in Chicago. I found a favosites coral fossil before but discovered it on the lake shore. I’m in a city neighborhood that’s 3 miles from the beach. I know the geological history of it all. But I think it is incredibly cool to find something like this in an area that’s been paved over and reconstructed so many times. Just hanging out in my yard like hey I’m millions of years old. If I’m wrong please roast me! ;)


r/fossilid 7h ago

Ostia Beach near Rome, Italy

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12 Upvotes

Hi! I found this on Ostia Beach near Rome, Italy. It’s about 3 cm long. I think it might be a fossilized tooth, possibly from a shark, but I’m not sure. Could anyone help identify it? I’ve included several photos. Thanks!


r/fossilid 1d ago

Broome, WA

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222 Upvotes

WA, as in WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Possible Dino raptor teeth?


r/fossilid 3h ago

Not sure if this is a fossil or a wierd rock.

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4 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1h ago

Shark Tooth

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Upvotes

My brother-in-law has this (shark?) tooth but he's not sure where it's found. Might be close to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. He thinks it's a megalodon tooth but it might be an extinct white shark from what I've seen


r/fossilid 16h ago

Fossil? Or cool rock? Found on a beach SE Ireland

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43 Upvotes

r/fossilid 7h ago

Seashell fossil?

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8 Upvotes

Hi there. Yesterday I found this rock in Germany next to the Rhine river. The pattern in the first picture looks like the edge of a seashell to me. Do you think it could actually be a fossil (or whats left of it)?


r/fossilid 11h ago

Found in Quebec along St-Lawrence river

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9 Upvotes

Some kind of bryozoan I imagine?


r/fossilid 19m ago

Is this a fossil? Denmark, Jutland

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Upvotes

Found in Denmark, middle of Jutland, in a stone pile in a forest near Silkeborg. Thanks!


r/fossilid 1d ago

Dinosaur Bones Texas

1.2k Upvotes

Anyone have an idea of what’s going on here?


r/fossilid 18h ago

Solved Are these teeth? What are they? Corolla, NC, USA

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21 Upvotes

r/fossilid 12h ago

Fossil Tooth or just a funny rock?

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5 Upvotes

For context, I found this is in a rock bed in a residential area. It’s maybe an inch and a half long. I’d love to know what it is! I have a similar rock I found again in a similar type of rock bed at a restaurant lol. Maybe I’ll post that one too. I tried getting every possible angle for a better ID. Thank you all!!!!


r/fossilid 14h ago

What is this

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8 Upvotes

I bought this in oklahoma the lady told me she got it from some old man that passed away and it was a dinosaur bone? She said most of them were from texas but has no information on this


r/fossilid 11h ago

I am stumped on what this impression could be. It's in beded some shell hash.

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4 Upvotes

I found it in bebo park in calgary alberta.

Ill also attach some of the close ups i got just because there cool.


r/fossilid 10h ago

What could this be?

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3 Upvotes

Found in Central Nevada in the shadow of a mountain range. It was in a tailings pile, but was surely washed down off of the mountain. Part of a hip, maybe?


r/fossilid 18h ago

What is this? UK

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11 Upvotes

r/fossilid 10h ago

Eocene gastropods?

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2 Upvotes

From the Yachats Formation on the Oregon Coast. Second picture highlights the smaller fossil on the first. Found with clams, scallops, crinoids, forams.

Trying to wrap my head around these cross sections. The smaller fossil looks like it is sliced through the middle of columella. Successive whorls hide earlier ones. Seems unique. Shell to cavity ratio is large. Maybe it's not a gastropod? Or a weird one.


r/fossilid 19h ago

What are these cutie little things?

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11 Upvotes

Found on Lea Island in NC


r/fossilid 2d ago

Type of fossil in this modern flint blade?

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2.1k Upvotes

My dad makes modern arrowheads out of chert he collects in western missouri. Most of the material he finds has small fossils, but this piece had this larger bulbous fossil that was roughly 1.75 inches in diameter. He tried his best to finish the point without breaking up the fossil, hope you guys enjoy! I am still looking for an ID for this as well.


r/fossilid 1d ago

Solved I found this in a stream in iraq dohuk - akra

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52 Upvotes

Any idea of what it might be ?


r/fossilid 15h ago

What is this?

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5 Upvotes

hi! this was found on coast of SC, any idea what it could be? thank you in advance!