Explore the fossil record.
From the life of ancient organisms to the specimens, rocks and places that preserve their history.
LBPS connects scientific literature, collecting records and curated specimens. The survey began in the London Basin and is designed to follow fossil evidence across other regions and geological ages.
Ancient Life
How prehistoric animals and plants lived · in development
02 / IdentifyFossil records
Species, specimens and taxonomic evidence
03 / UnderstandRocks & time
Geological units, ages and stratigraphy
04 / LocateField localities
Site records, geological context and observations
Meet the life behind the fossils.
An organism-first guide to prehistoric life—its anatomy, ecology and evolution—connected to the verified fossils that document it.
Beginning with Sharks & Rays, the Ancient Life Explorer will grow using LBPS’s existing classification and fossil records. The educational browser is being developed; the existing Fossil Database remains available.
Explore current fossil databaseIndex labels are editorial examples, not published category pages.
The places behind the fossil record.
Field photographs, geological context and recorded observations give fossil evidence a location and a history.
Geology is a place, not just an age.
Visit the locality directory to explore documented exposures, recorded finds and geological context. Historical and inaccessible sites remain part of the archive, not the active-site spotlight.
Explore field localities ↗Recently added to LBPS.
Explore photographed, publicly approved specimens or recent additions to the scientific fossil database.
Photographed specimens will appear here after public-image clearance. Browse recent fossil records in the next tab.
Work with the survey.
A connected fossil record is strongest when specimens, historical collections, specialist interpretation and field evidence can be considered together.
My LBPS
Keep a private fossil catalogue, record finds, manage photography and choose what to share through approved workflows.
Open My LBPS ↗Research access
Explore scientific research tools and the separate application route for Research Hub access.
Request research access ↗Collections & repositories
Explore recorded institutional and private collections, with individual provenance and ownership acknowledged.
Browse collections ↗Connecting the evidence.
LBPS began with the fossil-bearing deposits of the London Basin. Its record model links species, specimens, geological units, localities, literature and collections while retaining provenance and uncertainty.
About the survey ↗Project news
Latest from LBPS
New features and improvements across the survey.
Fossil identification help from unresolved taxonomic records
Visitors viewing a broader or unresolved fossil identification can now follow a direct link to the LBPS fossil identification guide. The change improves navigation without altering taxonomic records, geological evidence or species…
Share Collection Items with public links and QR codes
Members can now share eligible Collection Items with a dedicated share link or QR code, while private records remain protected.
Individual specimen records from multi-specimen plates
Multi-specimen plates can now link individual fossils to their own Collection Item records, making grouped plates easier to understand and reuse.