Fossil Collecting and Fossil Hunting

[Tyto_Theropod]

I've noticed people sharing their fossil collections here, but there didn't seem to be a thread for it so I thought I'd start one where people can post pictures and discuss fossil collecting (i.e. accumulating a ridiculously large amount of fossils in your house) fossil hunting (i.e. grubbing around at beaches and old quarries, looking for fossils and pretending to be Robert Bakker) .

Fossil collecting is a very interesting hobby and very satisfying. As well as finding fossils yourself, you can also pick them up from reputable fossil shops. Not all fossils are expensive - in fact you could say there's a fossil to fit every pocket!

However, there are a few caveats:

BUYING FOSSILS:

- The trade in faked fossils is rife nowadays. Fossils can be fabricated or augmented and replicas can be sold as the real thing. Be cautious!

- It is illegal to export fossils from some countries, notably China and Argentina. Don't buy fossils from these countries unless it's specifically stated that they were imported before the ban. I believe China also allows a few species of fish and insect to be exported.

- Be especially cautious with fossils for sale on sites like ebay.

- Don't buy 'Keichosaurs' (small, Plesiosaur-like animals), as most of them are faked. It's not a good idea to buy from shops that sell these.

- Some fossils are valuable to researchers, and many dinosaurs were described after their fossils were 'rescued' from dealers - an example being the South American Spinosaurid Irritator. If it looks like it could be important to science, it should probably be in a museum and not for sale!

- You can also collect replica fossils. These are casts of real ones, can be mass-produced and are therefore less likely to be needed by museums, etc.

FOSSIL HUNTING

- Before visiting a fossil site, check the rules that apply to it. Amateur collecting may not be allowed at some sites. Other sites do not allow any private collecting, while others do not allow you to hammer the bedrock (i.e. only pick up loose material).

- Always be safe when fossil hunting. Always wear sensible footwear and carry a mobile phone. A hard hat may also be necessary in quarries or areas with eroding cliffs. If the location is remote, let people know where you are going and when you expect to be back. Check tide times in coastal areas.

- If you think you've made an important discovery while fossil hunting, contact a museum and make no further attempts to extract the material yourself.

Fellow Brits will find these site useful when looking for information on fossil hunting:

http://www.ukfossils.co.uk/

http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/

UK fossil shops I personally think seem above board are:

- DJ Fossils and Minerals: http://www.djfossilsandminerals.com/

- Fossils Direct: http://www.fossilsdirect.co.uk/

- Fossiliferous: http://www.fossiliferous.co.uk/

- GeoEd (REPLICA fossils): http://www.geoed.co.uk/index.cgi?pageselect=homepage

- I Dig Dinos Fossils: http://www.iddfossils.co.uk/

Of course I'm primarily interested in sites from my own country, but here are a couple of US ones:

- Indiana9 Fossils: http://www.indiana9fossils.com/

- Paleo Direct: https://www.paleodirect.com/

- Paleo Enterprises: http://paleoenterprises.com/

I might update this list if I find more

In the meantime, I'll end this helluvalongpost and then put up some pics of my own collection to get us started

[Tyto_Theropod]

Okay, here goes! Are you sitting comfortably? This might take a while... 

I took these pictures June last year with the intention of posting them then. Not all of them are very good - if anyone wants better ones of a specific fossil, I'll try and take some more. I've got more fossils now, and am planning on resorting my collection box, so I'll update when that happens

Box 1: General fossils (i.e. anything that isn't a dinosaur! I have some of my poorer quality dinosaur material in here too).



We'll start with the miscellanious stuff, then in later posts I'll cover trilobites, ammonites, marine reptiles, dinosaurs (the pride of my collection! ) and finally fossils I found myself.


Insect nest I got from a local fossil shop. Initially bought by my grandmother, who later gave it to me. Frustratingly, she'd mislaid the label and I can't remember where it came from! 



Part of an Edaphosaurus sale spine from the Permian Wichita Fm., USA. Bought from Indiana9 around 2011 I think.



Polished Orthoceras - part of my childhood collection, so I have no idea on stratigraphic location.



Three brachiopods. Left: Atrypa sp., USA. ~400MYO. bought from the shop in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. Centre: Part of my childhood collection, from one of those big plastic grab bozes of rocks and minerals you see in gift shops, so no idea where it came from, but still pretty. Right: Found by me on the foreshore at Waterloo, Isle of Skye. ~192MYA. I dug it out of the clay with a Swiss army knife and then gently cleaned it with water at home.




A brittlestar, Geocoma carinata, from the famous Solnhofen Limestone of Germany.



A beautifully preserved little amphibian, including some of its skin.



The bottom drawer of this box - much messier than the 'display' bit! It has the fossils I either don't have room for on top or don't like as much. Top row L-R: Sectioned ammonite someone gave me for Christmas. There's only half of it. Not a big fan; a trilobite from my childhood collection. I have no idea where it came from or what its stratigtraphic background is; some ammonites from my childhood collection. I got the little ones from an observatory in Dundee, but apart from that I don't know much about their background. Still, nostalgia value as they were my favourites as a kid; three fossil shark teeth, also acquired  as a child, also that once observatory. Second row L-R: Coelophysis bits from Ghost Ranch, Texas. They're TINY, way to small for study specimens and I think I might sell them; coral polyps, an echinoid and part of a crinoid stalk, again part of my childhood collection. All from the same shop as the brachiopod; a tiny ammonite (or maybe the centre of a larger one...?) that I found at Dunans, Skye; Third row: Some belemnites I found at Dunans, Skye; Bottom row: A broken belemnite from Dunans, Skye, awaiting repair (small fossils are easily repaired with diluted PVA glue ) Also various labels, blue tack (for holding the fossils down so they don't roll around in the box and get chipped), specimen bags and bubble wrap for transporting fossils from the field, empty specimen boxes awaiting use and some original labels and packaging from bought fossils (a good idea to keep these for the information they contain).

I'll probably post more tomorrow - flavour of the day: Trilobites! Until then, happy collecting!

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Great idea for a thread! I wanted to start one like this for a while now but haven't gotten to it. I'll post my collection here soon. I can't see a label, but is the large, pale trilobite from Oklahoma? I also really like your brittlestar.

[DinoLord]

Fossil collecting is another one of my great passions/hobbies in life. Unfortunately, I haven't been collecting myself all that much, as the primary fossils to be found somewhat local to me (Cretaceous shark teeth) don't particularly interest me. My main fossil passion are ammonites - I just can't get enough of them. I currently have two big boxes of French material waiting to be prepared.

[Gwangi]

Great collection and thread idea. We had a thread like this on version 1 of the forum but no one every started one here. I have a fossil collection too but most of it consists of locally collected fossils which means Devonian shells, crinoids, trilobites etc. Aside from that, not much else. I might get around to posting it eventually, but I wouldn't count on it being anytime soon! Nothing to lose sleep over anyway.

[triceratops83]

That's a really nice display you have there Tyto_Theropod!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I do have a few threads similar to this posted, although mine are more specialized,. regarding dinosaur eggs, and dinosaur bones and fossils themselves. I have nothing about marine fossils or plants posted at all so this is a great addition.

[Doug Watson]

Very nice collection looking forward to seeing more and unlike my fossil collection looks like you dust yours.

[Arul]

Wow thanks nice thread mark as bookmark

[Tyto_Theropod]

Another installment! Thanks for the comments guys

Great idea for a thread! I wanted to start one like this for a while now but haven't gotten to it. I'll post my collection here soon. I can't see a label, but is the large, pale trilobite from Oklahoma? I also really like your brittlestar.

Thanks Pachyrhinosaurus! I've always loved brittle stars, and was lucky enough to see some extant ones at an aquarium in Anglesey as a kid. I had some dried ones at one point but I think I've lost them now The trilobite is from Russia and I've posted some more photos of it below

My main fossil passion are ammonites - I just can't get enough of them. I currently have two big boxes of French material waiting to be prepared.

Yes, ammonites are awesome, and if I allowed myself to buy every single one I wanted I'd be bankrupt and be sleeping in the garden shed because the house was full of them! I've had to limit myself to only collecting specimens I find myself when I go to one of the Jurassic fossil sites (although I'm not lucky enough to have any locally).

Very nice collection looking forward to seeing more and unlike my fossil collection looks like you dust yours.

Dust them? I'm nowhere near that angelic , but the ones in the pictures are in a display box, so they don't tend to get all that dusty

Anyway, here are my trilobites:



My first trilobite. As far as I can recall my grandfather, who was a geologist and was passionate about anything like that, bought it for me at a museum when I was around five. I don't know what species it is or where it came from.



Asaphus (Neoasaphus) cornutus, Ordovician, Dubivik Fm., St Petersburg, Russia. Lovely eyes on this bad boy, but sadly no lenses.



Betonolithus chamberlaini, ~480MYO, from Wales. The animal itself is about the size of my little fingernail.



Two enrolled Phacops sp., ~375MYO, Morocco. The bigger one was bought at a local fossil shop and has lovely lenses. The smaller one came from the National Museum of Scotland, along with the Atrypa brachiopod in the last post.



Elrathia kingi from Utah. ~207MYO. Also from a local fossil shop.

That's all for now - next time I'll do my ammonites

[Arul]

From the link you mention, i keep my eye on www.charmouthfossils.co.uk, they said they selling their fossil collection, my question do they selling a real fossil ? Do they also give a certificate/licence after we deal with them ?

[Tyto_Theropod]

From the link you mention, i keep my eye on www.charmouthfossils.co.uk, they said they selling their fossil collection, my question do they selling a real fossil ? Do they also give a certificate/licence after we deal with them ?

I've never dealt with that particular dealer myself, but as far as I know and can tell their fossils are genuine. Most dealers will provide you with some kind of certificate, or details about where and sometimes when it was found, which is also good.

Meanwhile, let us move onto my extensive ammonite collection. Seriously, I can't seem to get enough of the things!



The section of my collecting box dedicated to ammonites, with most of my collection in there. Top to bottom: Cleoniceras cleon, polished specimen from Majunga, Madagascar. ~110MYO. Bought from a local fossil dealer;
Perisphinctes sp. from Tulear, Madagascar, ~150MYO, same dealer;
A smaller Perisphinctes, although I'm ashamed to say I can't remember where I got it;
An ammonite I dug out of the Oxford Clay at Dunans, Skye. ~155MYO. After it came out it fell to pieces but I was able to repair it with PVA glue. It still has what seems to be original shell (the white). I'm not sure of the species, looks like Ludwigia or Cardioceras. If anyone thinks they can do better, I'll post some more pictures, and please enlighten me! ;
Three belemnites I dug out from the Oxford Clay at Dunans, Skye;
Hildoceras sp. positive and negative I found for cheap at the Bell Pettigrew Museum, St Andrews. It's a tiny, charming collection. It has a Moa skeleton, a stuffed Thylacine and Passenger Pigeon and casts of Apatosaurus and Archaeopteryx fossils, as well as genuine Devonian fossil fish from a local site. It's open all summer and if you're ever passing that way, it's well worth a visit. I don't know where the ammonite came from, the pieces were being sold separately in a 'grab box' if you like, so I 'rescued' them in order to keep them together!;
Sectioned Phylloceras inflatum from Majunga, Madagascar, ~110MYO. From the same fossil dealer as the other Madagascan ones.



Two Dactylioceras. The one on the left came from a shop and was bought for practicing fossil prep. I honestly don't know if I'll ever get round to it, as I have none of the (EXPENSIVE!!!) equipment and nowhere I could really do that kind of work in. Plus, I can't see myself being very good at it, or enjoying it that much. Ah, well. The one on the right in from Fossiliferous and you can see all the info on its label. It's missing some of its outer whorls, but it's a very attractive specimen.



Two Promicroceras planicosta, one of my favourite species. Both from locations along the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, but sadly missing any other information. You can see how they were prepared in different ways.



One of the prizes on my collection!   



Cleoniceras cleon from Majunga, Madagascar, ~110MYO complete with its iridescent shell Bought from that same dealer as the other Madagascan ones, that same day. Lesson: never leave me in a fossil shop unattended, or the house will be full of ammonites in no time! D:

I also have another Dactylioceras from that fateful day, but I seem to have forgotten to photograph it I'll go and correct that

[Everything_Dinosaur]

Always a pleasure to see fossil collections, a wonderful set of Ammonite fossils.  Not sure what the collective noun for Ammonoidea fossils might be, how about a coil of Ammonites?

[amargasaurus cazaui]

One thing I strongly suggest with all fossil dealers is never purchase from a dealer that offers anything less than a one hundred percent return/refund policy. A reputable and established dealer will do that, and it serves to protect your investment . Makre sure to study, learn and understand as much as you can about your intended purchases before proceeding. The larger the investment, the more chance it has been restored/altered/ or may be a fake. That being said, there are many reliable dealers out there that do sell fossils and do so quite well, no matter the cost or item. I keep hearing people ask if the fossil comes with a certificate of authenticity etc. Try and realize such papers mean quite little in  reality....all they are is a dealer or seller stating they feel the item is legimate, and generally give you no more legal ground or rights than not having it would mean.Your best protection is to do business with complete refund/return policies, as they generally get it right and do not mind backing their items.
   Earlier it was mentioned or suggested to avoid purchasing Keichosaurus for example The dealer in the UK that I purchased my Psittacosaurus from is a specialized dealer in those fossils. He has in fact had a book printed showing how to authenticate these fossils and what things to watch for and examine. His name is Mike Holmes, with Triassica, and is perhaps the only seller in the world I would consider purchasing a Keichosaurus from for those reasons. He can be found on Ebay under the Name Triassica and specializes in Keichosaurus, psittacosaurus and even has a mounted Tenontosaurus he is bringing to market at this point in time.

[DinoLord]

The best way to avoid fakes when looking to purchase fossils is to no for yourself what various types of fossils should and shouldn't look like. A great site for any budding fossil collector/hunter is The Fossil Forum; I've learned a lot there.

[Arul]

Okay friends thanks a lot for the information i have to learn more first before buying 

[Arul]

Nice collection Tyto_Theropod, how long do you need to collect them all ? 

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Tyto, I'm pretty sure your unidentified trilobite is a flexicalymene from Morocco. I remember when my local museum had those in their shop.
I also found this link especially helpful:
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/collect/faketrilobites3.htm

[reinier zwanink]

I just stumbled on this  here in holland
Maybe to far away but might be interesting

UNIEK :  Opgezette Echte Dinosaurus : Psittacosaurus !!!
€ 500,00
http://link.marktplaats.nl/m903970188

Looks very real to me

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I just stumbled on this  here in holland
Maybe to far away but might be interesting

UNIEK :  Opgezette Echte Dinosaurus : Psittacosaurus !!!
€ 500,00
http://link.marktplaats.nl/m903970188

Looks very real to me

Unsure the amount that translates to in US dollars, but the mount itself is somewhat amateurish and not that well done. Make note the skull for example is still infilled with matrix and not cleaned. Also make note of how the arms are depicted attached to the spinal if I am seeing correctly/.The pubis, ankle bones and coracoids are all missing is as common in these specimens. This appears to be the same species I have myself, as the description appears to be stating Psittacosaurus Meileyingensis. It does seem otherwise quite complete and the processes on the verts seem well preserved unless they have been restored. You generally do not see that degree of preservation in them.