Palaeontology collections

The geographic, stratigraphic and historical coverage of the seven million vertebrate, invertebrate and plant fossils in the Museum's palaeontology collection make it globally important.

Looking for a specimen?

The Palaeontology collection is being digitised

Fossil vertebrates

Fossil fish

Our large collection of fossil fishes contains approximately 90,000 specimens, of which 5,000 are type or figured specimens.

Fossil amphibians

The fossil amphibian collection contains approximately 400 specimens and casts.

Fossil birds

The fossil bird collection includes Archaeopteryx, large flightless birds (ratites) and recently extinct species such as the dodo.

Fossil mammals

The collection contains around 250,000 specimens from around the world and is rich in type and figured material.

Marine reptiles

Our collection of marine reptile fossils contains many specimens from the Lower Lias of the UK’s Dorset coast, including some discovered by Mary Anning.

Dinosaurs

We house one of the world’s most important dinosaur collections, which includes 157 taxa and 69 type specimens.

Pterosaurs

Our pterosaur collection contains around 1,000 specimens, from isolated incomplete bones to articulated skeletons on slabs.

Pre-Cenozoic synapsids and parareptiles

Our collection contains over 3,000 specimens, including a large amount of material from Africa.

Lepidosaurs

Our collection of fossilised lizards and snakes includes many specimens from Britain.

Crocodylomorphs and early archosaurs

The collections contain around 5,000 specimens, from individual bones to articulated skeletons on slabs.

Fossil invertebrates and plants

Fossil echinoderms

The diversity and abundance of echinoderm fossils are reflected in our large, world-class collection.

Brachiopods

The collection has more than 300,000 specimens, including 10,000 type and figured specimens.

Fossil bryozoans

We hold the best collection of fossil bryozoans in the world, with over 5,000 type and figured specimens.

Fossil annelids

Our collection of fossil annelids is both geologically and geographically diverse.

 

Fossil molluscs

The fossil mollusc collection is systematically, stratigraphically and geographically comprehensive, and includes more than 20,000 type and figured specimens.

Fossil sponges

Our fossil sponge (phylum porifera) collection contains around 71,000 specimens, including over 200 type and figured specimens.

Palaeobotany

Our collection of fossil and recent (living) ostracods, including 20,000 single-specimen mounts and many faunal slides.

Micropalaeontology collections

Conodonts

The Museum’s collection of conodont microfossils is particularly strong in Carboniferous material.

Foraminifera

The most extensive of the Museum's micropalaeontological collections, with approximately 250,000 slides.

Radiolarians

The Museum’s radiolarian collection is a valuable resource for dating rocks and studying oceans of the past.

Ostracods

The Museum’s collection of fossil and recent (living) ostracods, including 20,000 single-specimen mounts and many faunal slides.

Nannofossils

The Museum's nannofossil collection is particularly important for ocean acidification studies and contains both fossil and modern coccolithophores.

Palynology

The Museum holds spore and pollen microfossil specimens in a number of discrete collections, including the John Williams Index of Palaeopalynology.

Micropalaeontology library

The Heron-Allen Library is a leading international resource for micropalaeontology literature.

Anthropology collections

Palaeoanthropology

The Museum's palaeoanthropology collection includes the UK's largest assemblage of fossil hominin remains and a diverse collection of hominin tools.

Human comparatives

The Museum’s human comparative collection is the largest collection of human remains in the UK, with nearly 25,000 individuals represented.

London human remains

The remains of 740 individuals who lived in London over the last 5,000 years, excavated over a century ago.

Fossil primates

The Museum’s fossil primate collection contains around 1,000 original specimens and casts representing 96 of the approximately 500 recognised species of fossil primate.

Collections on the move

Access to some collections will be affected as we prepare for the move to our new collections, science and digitisation centre.

Accessing the collections

Scientists and collections management specialists can visit the collections and borrow specimens for research.

Collections management

Our duty is to provide a safe and secure environment for all of our collections.