USGS Mollusk Fossils in the Denver Collection.
Can USGS photos of fossils be downloaded or viewed online?
Some fossil photos can be viewed and downloaded from the USGS Photographic Library and our Multimedia Gallery. Fossil photos can also be viewed as published plates within many online USGS publications. Visit the USGS Publications Warehouse to search for publications. The best keywords for searches are author names, such as William Cobban, Norm Silberling, and Glenn Scott.
The USGS fossil collection was moved to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in 2020, so they are another good source.
Related Content
Did people and dinosaurs live at the same time?
No! After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth. However, small mammals (including shrew-sized primates) were alive at the time of the dinosaurs. Some scientists who study dinosaurs (vertebrate paleontologists) now think that birds are direct descendants of one line of carnivorous dinosaurs, and some consider that they in fact represent modern...
Did all the dinosaurs live together, and at the same time?
Dinosaur communities were separated by both time and geography. The 'Age of Dinosaurs' (the Mesozoic Era ) included three consecutive geologic time periods (the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods). Different dinosaur species lived during each of these three periods. For example, the Jurassic dinosaur Stegosaurus had already been extinct for approximately 80 million years before the...
USGS Mollusk Fossils in the Denver Collection.
Photo of fossil algae (dinocyst). Specimen is about 90 micrometers across.The largest known impact crater in the U.S. lies buried beneath the Virginia Coastal Plain.
Photo of fossil algae (dinocyst). Specimen is about 90 micrometers across.The largest known impact crater in the U.S. lies buried beneath the Virginia Coastal Plain.
A trio of USGS scientists has been involved in the excavation and study of a major animal and plant fossil discovery in Snowmass Village, Colo., which provides more than 100,000 years of vegetation and climate records for the area.
A trio of USGS scientists has been involved in the excavation and study of a major animal and plant fossil discovery in Snowmass Village, Colo., which provides more than 100,000 years of vegetation and climate records for the area.
Trilobite fossil, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
Trilobite fossil, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
A fossilized Trilobite, Phacops rana africana, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
A fossilized Trilobite, Phacops rana africana, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science personnel excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science personnel excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site.
Divisions of geologic time (Bookmark)
Why Study Paleoclimate?
The Geologic Time Spiral - A Path to the Past
Geologic time
Fossils, rocks, and time
Dinosaurs, facts and fiction
Geologic age: using radioactive decay to determine geologic age
Mud fossils
The Great Ice Age
Geologic time: The age of the Earth
Related Content
- FAQ
Did people and dinosaurs live at the same time?
No! After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth. However, small mammals (including shrew-sized primates) were alive at the time of the dinosaurs. Some scientists who study dinosaurs (vertebrate paleontologists) now think that birds are direct descendants of one line of carnivorous dinosaurs, and some consider that they in fact represent modern...
Did all the dinosaurs live together, and at the same time?
Dinosaur communities were separated by both time and geography. The 'Age of Dinosaurs' (the Mesozoic Era ) included three consecutive geologic time periods (the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods). Different dinosaur species lived during each of these three periods. For example, the Jurassic dinosaur Stegosaurus had already been extinct for approximately 80 million years before the...
- Multimedia
Mollusk Fossils
USGS Mollusk Fossils in the Denver Collection.
USGS Mollusk Fossils in the Denver Collection.
Mysterious Fossils from the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater and BeyondMysterious Fossils from the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater and BeyondPhoto of fossil algae (dinocyst). Specimen is about 90 micrometers across.The largest known impact crater in the U.S. lies buried beneath the Virginia Coastal Plain.
Photo of fossil algae (dinocyst). Specimen is about 90 micrometers across.The largest known impact crater in the U.S. lies buried beneath the Virginia Coastal Plain.
Fossil Discovery Makes History: Studying a Prehistoric Climate and Ecosystem in ColoradoFossil Discovery Makes History: Studying a Prehistoric Climate and Ecosystem in ColoradoA trio of USGS scientists has been involved in the excavation and study of a major animal and plant fossil discovery in Snowmass Village, Colo., which provides more than 100,000 years of vegetation and climate records for the area.
A trio of USGS scientists has been involved in the excavation and study of a major animal and plant fossil discovery in Snowmass Village, Colo., which provides more than 100,000 years of vegetation and climate records for the area.
Trilobite FossilTrilobite fossil, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
Trilobite fossil, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
Trilobite Fossil (Phacops rana africana)A fossilized Trilobite, Phacops rana africana, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
A fossilized Trilobite, Phacops rana africana, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
Fossil Fish (Jiang Hanichthys)Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossil Fish (Jiang Hanichthys)Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Mastodon FossilDenver Museum of Nature and Science personnel excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science personnel excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site.
- Publications
Divisions of geologic time (Bookmark)
DescriptionThis bookmark presents information that is widely sought by educators and students. Version 3.0 of this bookmark is updated according to chapter C of U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1879–1. The bookmark contains names of geologic time periods and boundary age estimates ratified by the International Commission of Stratigraphy in 2023.AuthorsWhy Study Paleoclimate?
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers are at the forefront of paleoclimate research, the study of past climates. With their unique skills and perspective, only geologists have the tools necessary to delve into the distant past (long before instrumental records were collected) in order to better understand global environmental conditions that were very different from today's conditions. PaleoclAuthorsMarci Robinson, Harry DowsettThe Geologic Time Spiral - A Path to the Past
The Earth is very old - 4.5 billion years or more according to scientific estimates. Most of the evidence for an ancient Earth is contained in the rocks that form the Earth's crust. The rock layers themselves - like pages in a long and complicated history - record the events of the past, and buried within them are the remains of life - the plants and animals that evolved from organic structures thAuthorsJoseph Graham, William Newman, John StacyGeologic time
The Earth is very old 4 1/2 billion years or more according to recent estimates. This vast span of time, called geologic time by earth scientists, is difficult to comprehend in the familiar time units of months and years, or even centuries. How then do scientists reckon geologic time, and why do they believe the Earth is so old? A great part of the secret of the Earth's age is locked up in its rocAuthorsWilliam L. NewmanFossils, rocks, and time
We study our Earth for many reasons: to find water to drink or oil to run our cars or coal to heat our homes, to know where to expect earthquakes or landslides or floods, and to try to understand our natural surroundings. Earth is constantly changing--nothing on its surface is truly permanent. Rocks that are now on top of a mountain may once have been at the bottom of the sea. Thus, to understandAuthorsLucy E. Edwards, John PojetaDinosaurs, facts and fiction
No abstract available.AuthorsRonald J. Litwin, Robert E. Weems, Thomas R. HoltzGeologic age: using radioactive decay to determine geologic age
At the close of the 18th century, the haze of fantasy and mysticism that tended to obscure the true nature of the Earth was being swept away. Careful studies by scientists showed that rocks had diverse origins. Some rock layers, containing clearly identifiable fossil remains of fish and other forms of aquatic animal and plant life, originally formed in the ocean. Other layers, consisting of sand gAuthorsMud fossils
At the close of the 18th century, the haze of fantasy and mysticism that tended to obscure the true nature of the Earth was being swept away. Careful studies by scientists showed that rocks had diverse origins. Some rock layers, containing clearly identifiable fossil remains of fish and other forms of aquatic animal and plant life, originally formed in the ocean. Other layers, consisting of sand gAuthorsThe Great Ice Age
The Great Ice Age, a recent chapter in the Earth's history, was a period of recurring widespread glaciations. During the Pleistocene Epoch of the geologic time scale, which began about a million or more years ago, mountain glaciers formed on all continents, the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland were more extensive and thicker than today, and vast glaciers, in places as much as several thousand fAuthorsLouis L. RayGeologic time: The age of the Earth
The Earth is very old 4 1/2 billion years or more according to recent estimates. This vast span of time, called geologic time by earth scientists and believed by some to reach back to the birth of the Solar System, is difficult if not impossible to comprehend in the familiar time units of months and years, or even centuries. How then do scientists reckon geologic time, and why do they believe theAuthorsWilliam L. Newman - News