Skip to main content

Survey fossil specimens index

Publisher
British Geological Survey (BGS)
Updated
18 September 2026
Topic
Not set
Licence
Not set

Summary

The survey fossil specimens index shows the localities of significant fossil samples, either collected by Geological Survey staff, or donated by individuals and institutions. The BGS fossil collections contain over 2 million specimens, including a sizeable quantity of type, figured and cited material. Each location is associated with a range of sample numbers which are held in the collections. For some locations, the name of the locality is available, and for some specimens, chronostratigraphic and / or lithostratigraphic information is included. Note that because a small number of the fossil locations are confidential, in the publicly accessible version of this dataset, locations have been rounded to the centre of their 100 m British National Grid grid square, and the spatial data are not visible at large scales. More information about specific locations may be available on request. Material is available for inspection on application by e-mail. Specimens are sometimes available for loan to bona fide academics.

Data links

Link Format Preview Updated
Palaeontology and biostratigraphy collections – 18/9/2026

Is this data useful? Give us feedback

Additional information

Source Metadata
XML, HTML
Date added
02 September 2026
Harvest GUID
5798eb74-7bae-13d4-e063-3050940adf8b
Extent (Latitude)
60.8800° to 49.8500°
Extent (Longitude)
-8.6500° to 1.7800°
Dataset reference date (creation)
2026-07-27
Frequency of update
asNeeded
Access constraints
The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.
Responsible party
British Geological Survey (distributor, pointOfContact)
ISO 19139 resource type
dataset
Metadata language
eng

Contact

Enquiries

enquiries@bgs.ac.uk

Freedom of information (FOI) requests

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests