Database of palaeontological specimens held by the Survey, including the “Museum” and “Survey” collections currently held in Keyworth and Edinburgh. The database currently contains over 250,000 entries mainly from the taxonomic reference collections. Geographical coverage is predominantly UK and Ireland, although the Survey also holds several thousand fossils from the rest of the world. Geological ages from Precambrian to Upper Greensand Formation (Lower Cretaceous) and Quaternary samples are comprehensively databased, as well as recognised holotype and other type samples. Key fields recorded include sample number and description, collector or donor information, locality information, stratigraphy, type status, identification and citation details. The majority of these can be searched via a public web portal. The most recent update makes available ~25,000 digital images, many taken to a professional standard. The palaeontology collection at BGS is also historically significant, having its origins in the Museum of Practical Geology, Piccadilly, London, in 1851.
