Type Fossils

Welcome to the fossils section of the website. This is designed to help you learn the different characteristics of each major fossil group so that you are able to distinguish between them.

First year students, please refer to the specimens housed in the first year teaching laboratory. There is no substitute for handling the specimens themselves; this website is just an accessory to help you along the way.

Animals occupy different environments, have different life habits and lived through different periods in geological time. It is good to be aware of these differences in lifestyle and timing, within and between phyla, classes, orders and families.