Built by a geologist

Fossil Identification Quiz

GeoMiner's free fossil identification quiz provides twelve evidence-led questions without an account, timer, upload, public leaderboard, or competency certificate. Questions separate body fossils from trace fossils; compare trilobites, brachiopods, bivalves, bryozoans, corals, crinoids, plants, wood, vertebrate material, tracks, and burrows; distinguish molds, casts, permineralization, impressions, compressions, and carbon films; and test pseudofossil alternatives such as manganese dendrites, concretions, mineral growth, sedimentary structures, artifacts, and recent material. Stewardship questions cover contextual photography, private location records, in-place vertebrate finds, Canadian national-park protection, jurisdiction and land-ownership rules, and reporting potentially significant finds. Every answered question explains the reasoning and links to GeoMiner's source-backed fossil identification guide. Answers and the current score stay in the browser; only the best numeric score is stored on the visitor's device. Analytics receive only bounded actions, a broad score band, and an optional broad review topic—never answers, question responses, specimen information, photos, locations, provenance, taxon names, or free text. The quiz teaches broad evidence-based candidates, uncertainty, alternatives, legal caution, and qualified review rather than promising a species identification, age, value, ownership decision, or collecting permission.