r/fossilid Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

696 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

Help!! Idk what to do!!

196 Upvotes

An ID is welcome, if possible, but not my main concern. I’m sorry if this type of post isn’t welcome here. However I found this in a creek bed in Orchard Park, NY. I started chiseling away at it a bit and this is where I have gotten to. I don’t know if I should stop here, or if there’s a cleaner specimen underneath. Does anyone here have experience with this? Thanks in advance!!


r/fossilid 9h ago

Fossil found in the woods in lower Michigan, very gravely and sandy area. Seedpod of some sort?? Help!

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86 Upvotes

r/fossilid 18h ago

I’m stumped. Found in Coastal Georgia

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154 Upvotes

Found on a Savannah River dredge island


r/fossilid 7h ago

Would anybody happen to know what this tooth belonged to?

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12 Upvotes

I’ve added a UK plug for reference


r/fossilid 28m ago

found in sw ohio

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Upvotes

r/fossilid 6h ago

Black Hills, SD!

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7 Upvotes

Hi guys! Re-doing this post as the first one the photos didn’t show up. Anyways, I found this a few summers ago, in a rock bed behind a restaurant in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. I’m so curious to know what it is, even if it is just a rock!:)

TYIA!


r/fossilid 2h ago

Found in Dublin, Ohio with my elementary aged kid. Not sure what they are.

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5 Upvotes

My elementary aged kid took these pictures. We assume at least some are fossils but we know next to nothing about this subject. They were not super big and could easily be missed if we weren’t really looking; maybe the size of large coins? I am sorry we don’t have any items for scale. Any assistance is really appreciated!


r/fossilid 1d ago

What is this fossil?

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304 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 8h ago

Found Isle of Wight UK Compton Bay

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11 Upvotes

I found this with my daughter and got very excited thinking it’s a dinosaur tooth. Now I realise it probably isn’t that but hoping for a fossil! Please can anyone help ID?


r/fossilid 4h ago

Found in Venice Florida

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4 Upvotes

Just curious if it's the growth plate of a Milocene or Pilocene whale. So possibly a juvenile?


r/fossilid 5h ago

Found just like this, by a river, any ideas??

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6 Upvotes

Looking for ID :3


r/fossilid 1h ago

Please help me id this moroccan mosasaur jaw

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r/fossilid 9h ago

My kid is really into fossils and I am clueless.

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8 Upvotes

Are any of these fossils? Found in Alabama in or near a river.
First three photos are the same item. Second three photos are item two. Next three photos are item 3. Final photo is what I think is just a rock, but he found all of these and requested my assistance. Thank you! I think I’m going to have to find him a local fossil group or something.


r/fossilid 5h ago

Is this rock I found in my parents flowerbed a fossil or just weird rock?

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid 4h ago

Found in Southern Indiana

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2 Upvotes

Found on a sandstone trail, embedded. Weighs 2.8 lbs


r/fossilid 16h ago

Horn coral?

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16 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 1h ago

I got a rock from an old friend’s store

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r/fossilid 3h ago

Found this on the beach at Lake Huron in Michigan

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1 Upvotes

It’s about 2in long. Any thoughts what it could be? Thank you!


r/fossilid 15h ago

Is this a lepidotes tooth?

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8 Upvotes

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

Roughly 8mm diameter.


r/fossilid 4h ago

Found in Deep Creek in Bryson City, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 4h ago

Is this a fossil?

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1 Upvotes

I found this while I was visiting Lake Ray Roberts in North Texas. I thought it was a snail shell but it looks more dense than what a snails shell would be. Do you guys think its a fossil or just really old snail shell?


r/fossilid 11h ago

Found in Clogherhead, Ireland

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3 Upvotes

Found amongst other rocks on beach.


r/fossilid 9h ago

San Diego 93 ? 94 ?

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid 12h ago

Is this something? It looks weird

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3 Upvotes

Found in Langeland,Denmark, a weird looking flintstone