Welcome to Whitby Museum’s geology collection. The spectacular displays and the extensive stores contain one of the finest collections of Jurassic fossils in Britain. The Whitby fossil collection is famous for its ammonites and its massive marine reptiles. These beautiful objects draw visitors from all over the world, and are of great scientific and historical interest. The science of geology was established in the early nineteenth century, and Whitby and the Yorkshire coast were at the centre of this exciting new discipline. Scientists came to study the great cliffs of Jurassic strata, and the plentiful fossils they contain. As the scientific importance of fossils began to be understood, Whitby Museum’s extensive collection became a vital resource for geologists, and has stayed that way ever since. The collection contains fossils collected in the early nineteenth century, and some from the present day. Yes, we are still collecting, and scientists are still coming from all over the world to see what the Whitby collection can tell them about the history of the earth, and the history of science.
Fossils
What happened to your extensive list of on-line fossils
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We intend to include the fossil list on the new website but due to way the list has been done previously there is not an easy way to achieve this as it will take sometime to manually move each one.
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Hi Alun. The list and images of the type fossils was a really handy on-line resource, especially for us ‘ammonitologists’! Do you know when the list and images will be available on the new website please?
Many thanks.
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Hi Andy, The link to the list and images of the type fossils has been up and running for a few weeks now on the new website. Alun.
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Have seen a couple of spelling mistakes on the site: ‘mammels’, ‘rhinoceras’
I’d be keen to see some of the ice age finds described.
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Thank you for pointing this out. I have corrected the entries you describe.
The Kirkdale Cave bones you refer to are on permanent display within the Museum so can be seen during our opening hours.
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Hi! I’´m from Chile and i’d like to buy an ammonite from Whitby. Is it legal?
In Chile is not legal for regular people to collect fossils, you need an Investigation Permit from the State.
Is is the same in the UK?, or can I buy online a fossil from the UK and make it delivered to Chile?
Thank you for your orientation. You have a beautiful collection.
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It is not illegal to collect fossils in the UK. There are many reputable websites which sell such fossils, such as http://www.fossils-uk.com.
I cannot be certain whether they would ship to Chile, I imagine this would depend upon the rules in your country on accepting such items.
I hope this information is of help to you.
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