Palaeontology

Marine reptile fossil seen photographed from above, lying in a bed of rock

Palaeontology

The palaeontology collections include one of the world’s most important collections of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs, exceptionally preserved specimens with intact soft tissues and enigmatic fossils representing the earliest complex multicellular organisms. It features around 400,000 fossils, ranging from the Archean – around 2.7 billion years ago – to the end of the Pleistocene 11,700 years ago.

Fossil vertebrates

Fossil invertebrates

Palaeobotany

Palaeolith, Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Palaeoanthropology

Palaeontology collection online

We have digitised around 80% of our Palaeozoic collections, 60% of our Mesozoic collections and 40% of our Cenozoic collections.

Search the collection

The Oxfordshire Dinosaurs

Oxfordshire is home to the discovery of the first dinosaur to be scientifically described: Megalosaurus bucklandii....

Oxfordshire is home to the discovery of the first dinosaur to be scientifically described: Megalosaurus bucklandii. On display with Megalosaurus are three other species of dinosaur...

Oxfordshire is home to the discovery of the first dinosaur to be scientifically described: Megalosaurus bucklandii. On display with Megalosaurus are three other species of dinosaur discovered in Oxfordshire, as...

Oxfordshire is home to the discovery of the first dinosaur to be scientifically described: Megalosaurus bucklandii. On display with Megalosaurus are three other species of dinosaur discovered in Oxfordshire, as well as exact replicas of dinosaur skeletons

Mary Anning's Ichthyosaur

This 195-million-year-old marine reptile was discovered at some time before 1836 by the British palaeontologist...

This 195-million-year-old marine reptile was discovered at some time before 1836 by the British palaeontologist Mary Anning (1799–1847). It is an ichthyosaur from the Jurassic period,...

This 195-million-year-old marine reptile was discovered at some time before 1836 by the British palaeontologist Mary Anning (1799–1847). It is an ichthyosaur from the Jurassic period, and the fossil contains the...

This 195-million-year-old marine reptile was discovered at some time before 1836 by the British palaeontologist Mary Anning (1799–1847). It is an ichthyosaur from the Jurassic period, and the fossil contains the visible remains of prehistoric fish in its

Trilobite wall

The oceans were once filled with trilobites, ancient animals that are some of the first creatures with hard parts...

The oceans were once filled with trilobites, ancient animals that are some of the first creatures with hard parts found in the fossil record. A giant slab of rock preserves a natural...

The oceans were once filled with trilobites, ancient animals that are some of the first creatures with hard parts found in the fossil record. A giant slab of rock preserves a natural gathering of three types of...

The oceans were once filled with trilobites, ancient animals that are some of the first creatures with hard parts found in the fossil record. A giant slab of rock preserves a natural gathering of three types of trilobite, as well as many brittle stars.

The 'Red Lady' of Paviland

In 1823, geologists excavating the remains of mammoths in Goat's Hole Cave near Paviland in South Wales made...

In 1823, geologists excavating the remains of mammoths in Goat's Hole Cave near Paviland in South Wales made an intriguing discovery: a partial human skeleton covered in red ochre,...

In 1823, geologists excavating the remains of mammoths in Goat's Hole Cave near Paviland in South Wales made an intriguing discovery: a partial human skeleton covered in red ochre, accompanied by shell beads...

In 1823, geologists excavating the remains of mammoths in Goat's Hole Cave near Paviland in South Wales made an intriguing discovery: a partial human skeleton covered in red ochre, accompanied by shell beads and carved ivory items, and watched over by a m