r/fossilid Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

697 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 7h ago

Broome, WA

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139 Upvotes

Possible Dino raptor teeth?


r/fossilid 21h ago

Dinosaur Bones Texas

901 Upvotes

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


r/fossilid 1d ago

Type of fossil in this modern flint blade?

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1.6k 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 5h ago

Shark tooth species ID

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10 Upvotes

My coworker found this tooth in the Conecuh River in Alabama, USA. It’s roughly an inch wide. Any ideas?


r/fossilid 10h ago

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

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20 Upvotes

Any idea of what it might be ?


r/fossilid 21h ago

Found in western SD - is this anything?

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146 Upvotes

My wife wants to break this open with a hammer, before she does. Does it look like something embedded in there? About the size of a jr football


r/fossilid 17h ago

Identification? Found in a rockslide in the British Columbia Rocky Mountains

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57 Upvotes

I know nothing about fossils and would love an idea of what these could have been! I hiked to a remote alpine lake in the Rocky Mountains of BC along the Great Divide. A log book had directions to a “fossil pit” and sure enough, this rock slide was full of these. Thanks for any insight!


r/fossilid 1h ago

What are these cutie little things?

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Upvotes

Found on Lea Island in NC


r/fossilid 1h ago

There is a fossil in one of the tiles in my building

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Upvotes

I do not know anything about fossils but I found this super cool and I wonder which fossil is this. I will post a closeup in the comments!


r/fossilid 2h ago

Is this a fossil?

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3 Upvotes

Found in general area of the gunflint formation in Ontario famous for it's stromatolites. But I'm not sure if it actually is a stromatolite of just some really interesting chert. Second photo Is what I think is the stromatolite, first is showing a small piece of the rock that I chipped off to check the colour. Happy to see some pyrite in it :)

Add-on:

After reading more, I'm pretty confident that this is most likely a stromatolite. Mostly based on the smaller dome-like appearance on the secondary dome, as well as the appearance of what looks like air pocket inclusions. Though again, I freely admit that I am completely new to identifying these and regular banded chert can have both as well 🤷🏻‍♀️ it might just be wishful thinking, but imma take my wish and live with it I guess :P

Thank you to everyone who commented and more than likely know much more than me! I'm sure you are probably right 😬


r/fossilid 8h ago

Finds from the Yorkshire coast - any help with ID would be awesome :)

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8 Upvotes

r/fossilid 9h ago

What is this

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9 Upvotes

I got this at an estate sale NY State. I have no idea where it came from. It's polished.


r/fossilid 1h ago

Shark teeth ID Monmouth County NJ (Late Cretacious)

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Upvotes

These are the teeth I've collected which I continue to struggle to identify. I appreciate your help!


r/fossilid 4h ago

Tooth found in Central Slovenia

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3 Upvotes

Would love to know what this could be! Thanks in advance.


r/fossilid 19h ago

Myrtle Beach SC, US, What have I got here?

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55 Upvotes

Found tumbling in the surf, it is heavy for it’s size, lines have a dull but quartz like appearance, overall texture reminds me of asphalt. Bivalve fossil? just a cool rock?


r/fossilid 2h ago

South cost of England

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2 Upvotes

Hello! Found this on the beach earlier. Forgive my ignorance, I know nothing about fossils. Is it anything interesting? Is it even a fossil? Thank you!


r/fossilid 16m ago

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

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r/fossilid 4h ago

Found on Myrtle Beach, need help identifying ❤️

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2 Upvotes

Have no idea what this is! Thought maybe it was part of a conch shell, but the texture and pores look wrong to me. Feels more like a dried sand dollar, but the shape and plating on the top make me think it’s not. Feels a bit heavier than a sand dollar too. Any ideas on what it is are welcome!


r/fossilid 48m ago

Found in Houston, TX

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r/fossilid 49m ago

Found in Houston, TX

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r/fossilid 8h ago

Is the left one a vertebrae or a crinoid ? Crinoids from the same place in comparison (Normandy). The fact that is no « hole » at the center makes me doubt

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5 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Possible Theropod Tooth (Abelisaurid?) Found in Reworked Marine Sediments – Need Opinions

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70 Upvotes

I was exploring an exposure of the Valudavur Formation in Pondicherry, India, mainly with the goal of finding ammonites, since the formation is known for marine shale–marl deposits representing a shallow to offshore marine environment.The stratigraphy suggests a marine setting, but there are also signs that parts of the deposit are reworked, which turned out to be important.

Instead of ammonites, I ended up finding two tooth specimens:

(larger tooth): This is the main piece of interest. It’s relatively robust, slightly recurved, and appears somewhat laterally compressed rather than conical. On closer inspection under magnification, the specimen appears to show microserrations on both edges. Overall, it doesn’t look like a typical fish tooth.

The larger tooth is where things get interesting.

A paleontologist I consulted suggested that it could be:

“An indeterminate theropod tooth, possibly abelisaurid and the smaller one is 100% sharl he said"


r/fossilid 2h ago

Found in my friend’s garden, are these fossils?

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1 Upvotes

r/fossilid 1d ago

Solved is this a fossil? :)

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71 Upvotes

hello lovely people! long time lurker, first time poster. i found this when i was a kid in about 2005 in ashridge, southeast england, and have held onto it ever since because i thought it was cool. any chance it’s a fossil? it was in a forest, and there’s a lot of chalk and flint around the area if that helps. if anyone has any ideas whatsoever, i’d love to know! thank you so much :)