Fossil collecting
Encyclopedia
Fossil collecting is the collection
of fossils for scientific study, hobby, or profit. Fossil collecting, as practiced by amateurs, is the predecessor of modern paleontology
and many still collect fossils and study fossils as amateurs. Professionals and amateurs alike collect fossils for their scientific value.
with differentiated strata representing a succession of deposited material. The occurrence of fossil bearing material depends on environmental factors before and after the time of preservation. After death, the first preserving factor is a rapid burial in water bodies or terrestrial sediment which would help in preserving the specimen. These rocks types are usually termed clastic rock, and are further subdivided into fine, medium and coarse grained material. While fossil's can be found in all grain typed, more detailed specimens are found in the fine grained material. A second type of burial is the non-clastic rock, form where the rock is made up of the precipitation of compacted fossil material, types of rock include limestone
and coal
. The third fossil bearing material is the evaporates, which precipitate out of concentrated dissolved salts to form nodular deposit
s, examples include rock salt and phosphate
concentrations. The evaporates are usually associated with gastropod, algae
, vertebrate
, and trace fossil
s. Fossils are not to be found in areas of igneous rock
(except in some beds between lava flows). In rocks which have undergone metamorphism
, fossils are generally so distorted that they are difficult to recognize or have been destroyed completely.
ous areas, river banks and beds, wave washed sea cliff
s, and engineering features like quarries
and road cuts. Coal mining
operations often yield excellent fossil plant
s, but the best ones are to be found not in the coal
itself but in the associated sedimentary rock deposits called coal measures
. and foreshore exposures are often good places to search for fossils, but always be aware of the state of the tide
s in the area. Never take chances by climbing high cliffs of crumbling rock or clay (many have died attempting it). Dried up natural lake beds and caves in the form of pitfall trap
s frequently also have high concentrations of fossils (e.g., Cuddie Springs
and Naracoorte Caves in Australia).
are used to split and break rocks to reveal fossils. Since the rock is deposited in layers, these layers may be split apart to reveal fossils. For soft sediment
s and unconsolidated deposits, such as sands, silt
s, and clays, a spade
, flat-bladed trowel
, and stiff brushes are used. Sieve
s in a variety of mesh
sizes are used to separate fossils from sands and gravel
s. Sieving is a rougher technique for collecting fossils and can destroy fragile ones. Some times, water is run through a sieve to held remove silt and sand. This technique is called wet sieving
Fossils tend to be very fragile and are generally not extracted entirely from the surrounding rock (the matrix) in the field. Cloth, cotton, small boxes and aluminum foil are frequently used to protect fossils being transported. Occasionally, large fragile specimens may need to be protected and supported using a jacket of plaster
before their removal from the rock.If a fossil is to be left in situ
, a cast may be produced, using plaster of paris or latex
. Whilst not preserving every detail, such a cast is inexpensive, easier to transport, causes less damage to the environment, and leaves the fossil in place for others to enjoy. Fossilized tracks
are frequently documented with casts. Subtle fossils which are preserved solely as impressions in sandy layers, such as the Ediacaran fossils, are also usually documented by means of a cast, which shows detail more clearly than the rock itself.
Safety is emphasized while fossil collecting and hard hat
s, safety goggles, steel toe boot
s, and protective glove
s are used.
with a locality number and a unique specimen number. This allows a collection to be easily searched and specimens located. Catologing of collections is almost universal in large institutions like museums.
Hammering the rocks in national parks and other areas of natural beauty is often discouraged and in most cases is illegal.
, and amateur geology.
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
of fossils for scientific study, hobby, or profit. Fossil collecting, as practiced by amateurs, is the predecessor of modern paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
and many still collect fossils and study fossils as amateurs. Professionals and amateurs alike collect fossils for their scientific value.
Rock type
Fossils are generally found in sedimentary rockSedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
with differentiated strata representing a succession of deposited material. The occurrence of fossil bearing material depends on environmental factors before and after the time of preservation. After death, the first preserving factor is a rapid burial in water bodies or terrestrial sediment which would help in preserving the specimen. These rocks types are usually termed clastic rock, and are further subdivided into fine, medium and coarse grained material. While fossil's can be found in all grain typed, more detailed specimens are found in the fine grained material. A second type of burial is the non-clastic rock, form where the rock is made up of the precipitation of compacted fossil material, types of rock include limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. The third fossil bearing material is the evaporates, which precipitate out of concentrated dissolved salts to form nodular deposit
Nodule (geology)
A nodule in petrology or mineralogy is a secondary structure, generally spherical or irregularly rounded in shape. Nodules are typically solid replacement bodies of chert or iron oxides formed during diagenesis of a sedimentary rock...
s, examples include rock salt and phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
concentrations. The evaporates are usually associated with gastropod, algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
, vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
, and trace fossil
Trace fossil
Trace fossils, also called ichnofossils , are geological records of biological activity. Trace fossils may be impressions made on the substrate by an organism: for example, burrows, borings , urolites , footprints and feeding marks, and root cavities...
s. Fossils are not to be found in areas of igneous rock
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
(except in some beds between lava flows). In rocks which have undergone metamorphism
Metamorphism
Metamorphism is the solid-state recrystallization of pre-existing rocks due to changes in physical and chemical conditions, primarily heat, pressure, and the introduction of chemically active fluids. Mineralogical, chemical and crystallographic changes can occur during this process...
, fossils are generally so distorted that they are difficult to recognize or have been destroyed completely.
Preservation
After burial various factors are at work to endanger the current fossil's preserved state. Chemical alteration would change the mineral composition of the fossil, but generally not its appearance, lithification would distort its appearance, the fossil itself may be fully or partially dissolved leaving only a fossil mold.Exposure
Areas where sedimentary rocks are being eroded include exposed mountainMountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
ous areas, river banks and beds, wave washed sea cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
s, and engineering features like quarries
Quarries
Quarries - The "Royal Quarries" — not found in Scripture — is the namegiven to the vast caverns stretching far underneath the northern hill, Bezetha, on which Jerusalem is built. Out of these mammoth caverns stones, a hard limestone, have been quarried in ancient times for the buildings in the...
and road cuts. Coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
operations often yield excellent fossil plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, but the best ones are to be found not in the coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
itself but in the associated sedimentary rock deposits called coal measures
Coal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
. and foreshore exposures are often good places to search for fossils, but always be aware of the state of the tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s in the area. Never take chances by climbing high cliffs of crumbling rock or clay (many have died attempting it). Dried up natural lake beds and caves in the form of pitfall trap
Pitfall trap
A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to escape, and may either be killed by the trap or remain unharmed...
s frequently also have high concentrations of fossils (e.g., Cuddie Springs
Cuddie Springs
Cuddie Springs is a notable archaeological and paleontological site in the semi-arid zone of central northern New South Wales, Australia . Cuddie Springs is an open site, with the fossil deposits preserved in a claypan on the floor of an ancient ephemeral lake...
and Naracoorte Caves in Australia).
Appearance
Generally in appearance, a fossil will be either a different colour to the surrounding rock, because of the different mineral content, will have a defining shape and texture or a combination of both.Collecting techniques
The techniques used to collect fossils vary depending on the sediment or rock in which the fossils are to be found. For collecting in rock a geological hammer, a variety of cold chisels and a malletMallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
are used to split and break rocks to reveal fossils. Since the rock is deposited in layers, these layers may be split apart to reveal fossils. For soft sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
s and unconsolidated deposits, such as sands, silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
s, and clays, a spade
Spade
A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purpose of digging or removing earth. Early spades were made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the advent of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth,...
, flat-bladed trowel
Trowel
A trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.-Hand tools:...
, and stiff brushes are used. Sieve
Sieve
A sieve, or sifter, separates wanted elements from unwanted material using a woven screen such as a mesh or net. However, in cooking, especially with flour, a sifter is used to aerate the substance, among other things. A strainer is a type of sieve typically used to separate a solid from a liquid...
s in a variety of mesh
Mesh
Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to web or net in that it has many attached or woven strands.-Types of mesh:...
sizes are used to separate fossils from sands and gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
s. Sieving is a rougher technique for collecting fossils and can destroy fragile ones. Some times, water is run through a sieve to held remove silt and sand. This technique is called wet sieving
Fossils tend to be very fragile and are generally not extracted entirely from the surrounding rock (the matrix) in the field. Cloth, cotton, small boxes and aluminum foil are frequently used to protect fossils being transported. Occasionally, large fragile specimens may need to be protected and supported using a jacket of plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
before their removal from the rock.If a fossil is to be left in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
, a cast may be produced, using plaster of paris or latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
. Whilst not preserving every detail, such a cast is inexpensive, easier to transport, causes less damage to the environment, and leaves the fossil in place for others to enjoy. Fossilized tracks
Animal tracks
Animal tracks are the imprints left behind in soil, snow, mud, or other ground surfaces that an animal walk across. Animal tracks are used by hunters in tracking their prey and by naturalists to identify animals living in a given area....
are frequently documented with casts. Subtle fossils which are preserved solely as impressions in sandy layers, such as the Ediacaran fossils, are also usually documented by means of a cast, which shows detail more clearly than the rock itself.
Safety is emphasized while fossil collecting and hard hat
Hard hat
A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments, such as construction sites, to protect the head from injury by falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, bad weather and electric shock. Inside the helmet is a suspension that spreads the helmet's weight over the...
s, safety goggles, steel toe boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
s, and protective glove
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
s are used.
Documentation
A knowledge of the precise location a fossil is essential if the fossil is to have any scientific value. Details of the parent rock strata, the location of the find, and other fossil material associated with the find help scientists to place the fossil in context, in terms of the time, location and situation in which the organism lived. Data logs, photographs, and sketchs may accompany detailed field notes to assist in the locating of a fossiliferous outcrop. Individual fossils are ideally catalogedDatabase catalog
The database catalog of a database instance consists of metadata in which definitions of database objects such as base tables, views , synonyms, value ranges, indexes, users, and user groups are stored....
with a locality number and a unique specimen number. This allows a collection to be easily searched and specimens located. Catologing of collections is almost universal in large institutions like museums.
Collecting ethics
To collect fossils, there are various legal realities that must be observed. Permission should be sought before collection begins on private land.Hammering the rocks in national parks and other areas of natural beauty is often discouraged and in most cases is illegal.
Societies and clubs
Many include fossil collectors. Lapidary clubs also include fossil collectors. In addition, paleontological societies and fossil clubs exist. There is some overlap between fossil collecting, mineral collectingMineral collecting
Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties.-Motivations:...
, and amateur geology.
Notable fossil collectors
- Mary AnningMary AnningMary Anning was a British fossil collector, dealer and palaeontologist who became known around the world for a number of important finds she made in the Jurassic age marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis where she lived...
- Robert Bakker
- Phil CurriePhil CurriePhilip John Currie, AOE is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton...
- Paul SerenoPaul SerenoPaul Callistus Sereno is an American paleontologist from the University of Chicago who discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents. He has conducted excavations at sites as varied as Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco, and Niger...
See also
- Fossil parkFossil parkA fossil park is a protected area with rich deposits of fossils. Fossil parks may be used in educating the public, and there are many fossil parks all over the world.-See also:* Paleorrota* List of Fossil Parks* Fossils* Fossil Hunters* Rockhounding...
- Lapidary club
- List of fossil sites
- Mineral collectingMineral collectingMineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties.-Motivations:...
- National Fossil DayNational Fossil DayNational Fossil Day was established to promote the scientific and educational values of fossils. This nationwide celebration was first held on October 13, 2010, during Earth Science Week. The National Park Service and over 130 partners, including museums, institutions, organizations and other...
- Paleontologist
- PaleozoologyPaleozoologyPaleozoology, also spelled as palaeozoology , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of multicellular animal remains from geological contexts, and the use of these fossils in the reconstruction of prehistoric environments and ancient...
- Prehistoric life