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Paleontology

Within the overall mission of the American Museum of Natural History, the Division of Paleontology seeks to describe the diversity of extinct invertebrates and vertebrates and explore the mechanisms driving their evolution and extinction.

In fulfillment of this objective, the division collects, maintains, and researches specimens of fossil and subfossil invertebrates and vertebrates, and the data associated with these specimens, aiming always to provide the highest standards of curatorial care, and to promote and assist access to the collections by bona fide scholars.

 

The Collections in the Division of Paleontology

Collection Fossil Amphibians, Reptiles, and Birds The world's largest fossil amphibian, reptile, and bird collections (FARB) houses more than 30,000 catalogued specimens. Collection Fossil Fish Paleoichthyology research activities include the evolution of primitive jawed vertebrates and the earliest sharks.
Collection Fossil Invertebrates With more than 5 million specimen lots, this collection is one of the largest invertebrate fossil collections in the world. Collection Fossil Mammals The fossil mammal collection is the largest collection of its type in the world, with about 400,000 specimens.
Article Volunteering in the Division of Paleontology Meet some of the volunteers in the Division. If you're interested in volunteering, please visit the Volunteer page. Database Search the Database Catalog data and images retrieved from this database system are intended for educational and scholarly use only. Article Fossil Identification View some examples of fossils and how to identify them.