r/fossilid • • Jun 20 '20

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR FOSSIL IDENTIFIED — READ BEFORE POSTING

710 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 • • 6h ago

River find from earlier today! Manatee County, Fl

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426 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 • • 2h ago

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

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17 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 3h ago

found outside of Memphis, TN

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7 Upvotes

this plate was a piece of a large broken boulder on the dry shore of a fishing lake outside of Memphis, TN. i’m more of an agate guy, but I know something cool when I see it! I just don’t know more than the basics, so here I am! the whole piece is 9 inches long, and each shell is about 1.5 inches or less.


r/fossilid • • 13h ago

My childhood treasure

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28 Upvotes

Hi there,

In the early 2000s, I dug up this tooth in Zeeland (the Netherlands). I would really appreciate more information about it. Is it indeed a shark tooth as I always thought?

Your help and tips are very welcome! 😄 Thanks in advance.


r/fossilid • • 8h ago

Is this a dupe?

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6 Upvotes

My son purchased at a rock shop at a cavern in Virginia. When it broke in half, I was looking at the cross section and wondered if it was real or not.


r/fossilid • • 3h ago

Solved what is this?

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2 Upvotes

Is this a shell fossil? Standard bic pickle lighter for reference. Found in Missouri, near st louis.


r/fossilid • • 45m ago

What is this found in monterey

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• Upvotes

I assume fish scales or something idk


r/fossilid • • 51m ago

Could this be a tooth?

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• Upvotes

Found on lake on lake Erie in Ontario.


r/fossilid • • 51m ago

Found in Cincinnati

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• Upvotes

Fairly certain its an Isotelus butt, just want your thoughts


r/fossilid • • 9h ago

Dinosaur bone? Or plant part?

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6 Upvotes

Found on Vancouver Island


r/fossilid • • 7h ago

Are these fossils? or modern, they were exceptinally huge (18+ inches, but very ligthweight, brittle, hence it complelely got demolished), Florida Island Find

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3 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Found as a child in maltese limestone

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366 Upvotes

Megalodon ?


r/fossilid • • 9h ago

Is this a fossil? Found in berekely county wv. size of credit card.

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2 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 1d ago

No location known, antique store find for $20. Aside from the horrendous glue repair, can anyone say if it's legit?

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128 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 3h ago

Found in a creek bed, Northern Ohio.

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0 Upvotes

I can't tell if this is part of a trilobite or something else. TIA!


r/fossilid • • 9h ago

Solved Possible fossil? Found near river Danube, Hungary.

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2 Upvotes

Not magnetic, crumbles easily.


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Fossilized horse tooth?

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37 Upvotes

I found this today in a creek bed in southeastern Washington. I thought it was petrified wood at first but after some research I think it’s a fossilized horse tooth! What do we think?


r/fossilid • • 13h ago

what kind of brachiopod(?) is this?

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3 Upvotes

Russia. I don't know the exact location from where the pile of rocks in which I found the fossil was brought.


r/fossilid • • 6h ago

Solved Can anyone tell me what this is?

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1 Upvotes

Found in central texas in a creek bottom. Curious about the two I was able to get a side profile of.


r/fossilid • • 11h ago

West Virginia fossil rock

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2 Upvotes

Found this in a creek near Seneca rocks with lots of fossil imprints in it. Has a piece of something sticking out. Is it worth breaking open?


r/fossilid • • 13h ago

is this coral? is it even a fossil?

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3 Upvotes

my sister said she found this near the hudson river in new york, usa. if anyone can help ID and date that’d be cool thanks


r/fossilid • • 7h ago

Is this a fossil?

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1 Upvotes

It looks like the bottom of a bottle but I don’t know how rock would form in the shape of it like this as it’s ridged.

Found on a beach in Somerset UK


r/fossilid • • 1d ago

Solved Dad found this in the yard (central Florida) any ideas?

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35 Upvotes

r/fossilid • • 15h ago

Mazon creek concretion?

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2 Upvotes

Hello r/fossilid

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Found this at Mazon creek a while back. Im pretty sure this is my first concretion find? Do i have anything here?