# A question about finding dinosaur fossils? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904 "2008-06-05T16:50:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/1 "2008-06-05T16:50:37Z")
Say I come across what is, in my opinion, a major find. I’m just a regular Joe off the streets. What is my next step? Because this has pretty much happened and I contacted the Museum of Natural History and they do not take unsolicited finds or submissions !?!? WTF? What if it’s a new breed of dinosaur or something? I really don’t know what to do. I’ve contacted a few people from colleges to no avail. It’s been two months and I’ve contacted at least 6 people who seem reputable with no reply. What now? Any ideas as to what the protocol is on this situation? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/2 "2008-06-05T16:58:23Z")
Did you find it on public land or private land? And how did you identify the bones as a dinosaur? What condition are they in? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/3 "2008-06-05T17:01:40Z")
We don’t really have enough information here. What is the nature of your evidence that you have a major dinosaur find? What kind of information did you provide to the “Museum of Natural History”? Can you tell us which one? Museums and universities get a lot of calls from people who think they have found a dinosaur when actually they’ve found some old soup bones. Without knowing what you actually told them, we can’t evaluate why they might be ignoring it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/4 "2008-06-05T17:02:47Z")
Contact someone in the archeology or paleontology dept at your nearest university. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/5 "2008-06-05T18:13:49Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Contact someone in the archeology or paleontology dept at your nearest university. [/QUOTE] [Archaeologists don’t dig dinosaurs](http://www.cafepress.com/shovelbums.107761941). ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/6 "2008-06-05T19:19:15Z")
Sure, but if you find the archaeologist, he’ll be able to tell you who the paleontologist is. What we really need to know is why the OP believes he’s found dinosaur fossils in the first place. It’s a common misconception that fossils are hard to find. If you go to the right place, you can find truckloads of fossils. The trouble is that digging them up, cataloging them, curating them, and studying them is lots and lots of work. Any paleontologist knows dozens or hundreds of sites to find fossils, the problem is figuring out which sites are worth working on. Full many a flower is born to blush unseen And waste its sweeness on the desert air. -Walt Whitman ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/7 "2008-06-05T19:52:45Z")
I work with [this guy](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080521/sc_nm/fossil_frog_dc). If you can provide some details about your ‘fossil’ I can ask him in person. I do know that depending where you are, fossils are rather ubiquitous and you’re probably welcome to keep small ones you find. Obviously, if you’ve uncovered an entire t-rex while putting in your roses, I would include those details in any e-mails you send to people. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/8 "2008-06-06T03:07:38Z")
Well, I sent an email to a Dr. Roger Thomas who is in charge of The Paleontological Society [www.paleosoc.org](http://www.paleosoc.org) and I sent him about 8 pics and he wrote back today and stated: > [@](#): > > From the pictures you sent, I can only say that you have evidently found some fossils. To learn more about what it is that you have, you should contact the nearest major natural history museum. Alternatively, there might be a paleontologist on the staff of a university in your state or region. You need to show the specimens to a specialist, either by bringing examples to that person or by persuading such a person to accompany you in the field. > > ``` > Good luck in seeking to get your material identified! > > ``` I found the fossils about 4 feet underground in the side of a creek bank on my granny’s farm here in Maryland. The bones are basically formed into the rock that we found. I will post a pic or four below for you to see. Also, I don’t want to say it’s a “major find”, but I did find something. I just don’t know what yet. I also provided no pics to the Museum of Natural History, just a brief email of what we found and I also asked to whom do we speak to about sending some pictures. No response yet. [![](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2555369314_7aa0923d24_o.jpg) ](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2555369314_7aa0923d24_o.jpg) [![](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/2555369292_fb34090781_o.jpg) ](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/2555369292_fb34090781_o.jpg) [![](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/2554545247_d894fdb5f6_o.jpg) ](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/2554545247_d894fdb5f6_o.jpg) [![](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2554545283_a1f26c3cb1_o.jpg) ](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2554545283_a1f26c3cb1_o.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/9 "2008-06-06T03:14:40Z")
Very cool! ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/10 "2008-06-06T03:51:28Z")
Looks great **diggleblop**. Best of luck finding someone who can help you ID it, but you’ve definitely found something interesting! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/11 "2008-06-06T04:02:21Z")
It’s not completely clear to me that those are even vertebrate bones. But they might be. Here is a [geological map of Maryland.](http://geology.about.com/library/bl/maps/n_statemap_MD1200.htm) Unless you are in the area mapped as Triassic and Cretaceous rocks, they won’t be dinosaurs. However, [dinosaur bones](http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/696web/dinosaur.html) have been found in Maryland. > [@](#): > > In the corridor between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, so many Early Cretaceous dinosaur fossils were found in the course of surface mining for iron ore in the 18th and early 19th centuries that the area was nicknamed “Dinosaur Alley.” > > Today, Maryland remains the only source of Early Cretaceous dinosaur fossils on the East Coast. The area that produced the bulk of Maryland’s dinosaur fossils in the last century is still the source of nearly all Early Cretaceous collecting in the state: Muirkirk, south of Laurel, in Prince Georges County. Again, what do you mean by the “Museum of Natural History”? The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington? And who did you send the e-mail to? They get a lot of inquiries by people who think they may have found something interesting. It may take some time to get to the right person to respond. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/12 "2008-06-06T04:42:48Z")
Yup, the Museum of Natural history in DC is who I contacted. I actually sent an email to the webmaster because there aren’t any staff lists on the website, nor does it look like they take unsolicited submissions. So, Carl Mehling from the Fossil Amphibian, Reptile, and Bird Collections, Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History got my email from the webmaster and wrote back just about an hour ago to me tell me all about their Annual Identification Day coming up in two days that is held in New York and the he is manning one of the tables. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it up there to show him, so I hope something else will be worked out. But slowly, things look as if they may be starting to fall into place. Maybe with the help of you guys and also me digging around on the net, someone will come along and want to see what we found. But I did not know about the finds in Maryland, thanks for that Colibri ! One more thing, the pictures I posted only show one of the many “fossils” we unearthed. There are a couple that are 8 feet long and have what appear to be hands, vertebre and skulls within the rock. Very interesting items I must say. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/13 "2008-06-06T04:56:43Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] Yup, the Museum of Natural history in DC is who I contacted. I actually sent an email to the webmaster because there aren’t any staff lists on the website, [/QUOTE] Yes there are. [National Museum of Natural History, Department of Paleobiology staff.](http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/paleoStaff.html) E-mail addresses can be found by clicking the links. I’m not sure who would be best to contact, but probably someone in Collections. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/14 "2008-06-06T10:07:53Z")
**Colibri** - is this an interest of yours or do you work in the field (no pun intended). ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/15 "2008-06-06T11:56:06Z")
This is honestly my favorite thread ever. This is the stuff (my) dreams are made of. I’m so excited for you, **diggleblop**!! Hopefully the fossils are something extra super cool. Although, what could be cooler than finding fossils like these yourself? _claps both hands over mouth to avoid squeeing_ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/16 "2008-06-06T14:36:32Z")
[QUOTE=Cicero] **Colibri** - is this an interest of yours or do you work in the field (no pun intended). [/QUOTE] I’m currently working on a new museum here in Panama which will include fossils in one of the galleries. I recently visited the National Museum as well as other museums to arrange for the loan of specimens or for making replicas of them to display in our museum. But I’ve been interested in fossils since I was a kid, visiting the dinosaur halls at the American Museum in NY. While it’s not my own field (which is ornithology) I have a fairly good knowledge of it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/17 "2008-06-06T17:10:53Z")
You lucky devil, **diggleblop**. To my eye that looks like a lovely find. Is that green stain actual mineralisation or plant growth? If the former, it’s possibly phosphatization, which is raree-ish for big animals. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/18 "2008-06-06T18:00:21Z")
I can say this: Whatever that is he’s found, it’s definitely not a Malibu Barbie. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/19 "2008-06-06T19:30:39Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] I can say this: Whatever that is he’s found, it’s definitely not a Malibu Barbie. [/QUOTE] I see you’re familiar with Harvey Rowe of the Paleoanthropology Division at the Smithsonian. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904/20 "2008-06-06T20:41:36Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] It’s not completely clear to me that those are even vertebrate bones. But they might be. [/QUOTE] Gotta say, they don’t look an awful lot like bones to me either - maybe a lot of the subtlety has been lost in the photo though. My first reaction though, was to remember [this](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/stuff/DSC00021.JPG) - it’s a picture I took in Spain last year while we were out walking in the hills near Bolnuevo - it looks like a jawbone with a row of teeth, but is in fact just a natural rock formation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-finding-dinosaur-fossils/451904.md?page=2)