Palaeontology collections

The British Geological Survey's fossil collections house an estimated three million specimens, representing most groups of organisms (phyla) with a fossil record, and all geological periods from Neoproterozoic to Recent.
This short movie shows pictures and 3D reproductions of some of our fossils, including Britain's oldest animal, as well as reconstructions of how they looked in life.
Best viewed in FULL SCREEN mode.

The palaeontology and biostratigraphy collections are split between Keyworth and Edinburgh, with the former holding most of the English and Welsh material, and the latter the majority of the Scottish material. Most of the type, figured and cited material is stored centrally at Keyworth.

Type & Stratigraphic Collection. All type, figured and cited macrofossils, plus other museum quality material selected for its stratigraphical importance. There are about 200000 specimens in Keyworth and about 5000 in Edinburgh. They are a useful starting point for many palaeontological studies.
Survey Collection. Material collected by Survey officers for biostratigraphic study. There are about 1250000 specimens in Keyworth and 400 000 in Edinburgh.
Micropalaeontology Collection. Includes type, figured and cited material. There are about 240000 slides in Keyworth and 6450 in Edinburgh.
Donated collections, including the important John Smith Collection in Edinburgh.
Catalogue of the BGS 'Purbeck' and 'Wealden' ostracod collection
Specimens are available for study at either Keyworth or Edinburgh and a loan system is available to accredited scientists.
Murchison's Silurian Fossils
A supplement to the 1989 catalogue of fossils illustrated in The Silurian System.

Contacts

Keyworth collections:

Paul Shepherd
E-mail: Paul Shepherd
Telephone: 0115 936 3102
Fax: 0115 936 3437

Edinburgh collections:

Sally Wild
E-mail: Sally Wild
Telephone: 0131 650 0325
Fax: 0131 668 2683

See also