fossils.im
The fossil hub

Ancient life, set in stone.

Fossil sea creatures, Ice Age giants, amber and even fossil poo, for families, beachcombers and anyone who has ever picked up a curious stone. Every fact here links to its source. Warm up with the game: can you name the fossil from one clue?

Which fossil?

8 clues. Pick the fossil each one describes.

Press start for your first clue.

Ten fossils

  • Megalodon
  • Ammonite
  • Mammoth
  • Smilodon
  • Amber
  • Trilobite
  • Ichthyosaur
  • Mosasaur
  • Crinoid
  • Coprolite

Each clue in the game is one of the facts in the fossil file. After you pick, the full fact and its source appear. The cliff drawing is our own.

What is fossils.im?

fossils.im is a small hub for fossils that aren’t dinosaurs, from giant sharks to the coiled shells on the beach at Lyme Regis. Each fossil will get its own site with sourced facts, a little history, games and printables. Some true things to start with:

Giant tooth

The name megalodon means “giant tooth”. [source]

Mostly from the sea

Around 99% of the fossils we find are from sea animals such as shellfish and sharks, because sand or mud could bury them quickly. [source]

A very rare event

Fossilisation needs a special set of conditions, so it is actually a very rare event. Most things that die rot away completely. [source]

Stone dung

Coprolites are fossil dung. The name comes from the Greek kopros (“dung”) and lithos (“stone”). [source]

Open the fossil file

Coming soon

Ten fossil sites are planned. The two marked “First wave” come first.

  • MegalodonFirst wavemegalodon.fossils.im

    Planned: the giant shark known mostly from its teeth, how big it really was, and what its fossils can and can’t tell us.

    Coming soon
  • AmmonitesFirst waveammonites.fossils.im

    Planned: the coiled shells of the Jurassic Coast, how ammonites lived, and how to tell one kind from another.

    Coming soon
  • Mammothsmammoths.fossils.im

    Planned: woolly mammoths and their relatives, where their fossils are found, and the last mammoths on Wrangel Island.

    Coming soon
  • Smilodonsmilodon.fossils.im

    Planned: the best-known sabre-toothed cat, those long canine teeth, and the Americas it lived in.

    Coming soon
  • Amberamber.fossils.im

    Planned: fossil tree resin, the Baltic amber coast, and the insects and plants caught inside it.

    Coming soon
  • Trilobitestrilobites.fossils.im

    Planned: the armoured sea arthropods of the Palaeozoic, how long they lasted, and how they died out.

    Coming soon
  • Ichthyosaursichthyosaurs.fossils.im

    Planned: the sea reptiles of the Triassic and Jurassic, and the Lyme Regis finds of Mary Anning and her brother Joseph.

    Coming soon
  • Mosasaursmosasaurs.fossils.im

    Planned: the sea-going lizards of the Cretaceous, how big they grew, and what they ate.

    Coming soon
  • Crinoidscrinoids.fossils.im

    Planned: sea lilies and feather stars, ancient and living, and why fossil crinoids help date rocks.

    Coming soon
  • Coprolitescoprolites.fossils.im

    Planned: fossil poo, how William Buckland and Mary Anning worked out what it was, and what it tells us about ancient meals.

    Coming soon

Sister hubs

fossils.im is part of the same REALLYBYTE family as these hubs:

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