Countries you can collect and buy fossils from

[Haravex]

I know it is possible to buy and collect specimens from usa and morocco but what other countries is it possible to do this? I see specimens from Uzbekistan from time to time my interest is mostly dinosaur fossils such as teeth and bones.

[Miocene_Mason]

There are many, but some are harder to come by. Dinosaurs narrows it down a bit, not because they are none existent, but because of legality issues. Some dinosaur bones circulate from before the Chinese export ban, but other than these Dinosaur bones of any completeness are valuable to science and considered national treasures (and lure tourists into museums). Other fossils however are obtainable from a wide variety of countries. A good deal are available online, but for those that are not we are lucky to have an international community of collectors here that span a great deal of countries on this forum, so we (through member trades and sales) can circulate fossils from countries that rarely export fossils.

[Haravex]

Yes I understand there are many fossil sites in the world but was more asking where you can collect apart from morocco and USA obviously China and South Africa have complete bans on any of these types of fossils. Sorry for not explaining better the first time what I was asking

[Miocene_Mason]

7 minutes ago, Haravex said:

Yes I understand there are many fossil sites in the world but was more asking where you can collect apart from morocco and USA obviously China and South Africa have complete bans on any of these types of fossils. Sorry for not explaining better the first time what I was asking

There's quite a few you can collect, but few you can come back home with the fossils you find.

[Haravex]

These few would be where exactly? Any idea on places I might have missed? Thanks for the information

[Miocene_Mason]

13 minutes ago, Haravex said:

These few would be where exactly? Any idea on places I might have missed? Thanks for the information

This would take a ton of research, there is on Online site that's trying to archive this but as of yet it only has China, South Africa, and  Brazil (no goes) I have heard of dinosaur remains in Kazakhstan, and I cannot find any Kazakh laws against the export of fossils, but it may be broadly covered over an antiquities act they signed with UNESCO. Maybe others know more, but for now the U,S, is the best and most legal places to hunt for dinosaurs, unless you have a guide in Morroco (do they have fossil guides there? Business opportunity!).

[jpc]

Two African countries I am familiar with do not allow the export of fossils... Niger and Tanzania.  

France, Germany and the UK allow fossil collecting, but Germany may be state to state and I think the laws have changed since I was there last.  

Italy and Spain do not allow fossil collecting, from what I have heard.  Switzerland is canton by canton, and please report anything good.  

[Miocene_Mason]

Pretty sure Thailand, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Russia, Mexico, and India do not allow dinosaur fossil exportation (not sure about correction) feel free to correct me.

[Miocene_Mason]

Fossil collecting in Antarctica is done, but all fossils collected should go to science because of their importance. Some Antarctic locales are actually quite abundant.

I do wonder about fossil collecting in international waters though...

[Haravex]

11 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

Pretty sure Thailand, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Russia, Mexico, and India do not allow dinosaur fossil exportation (not sure about correction) feel free to correct me.

how come you get fossil egg shell from saltasaurus from argentina? or is that classified as different or maybe before a ban was put into place?

[Miocene_Mason]

6 minutes ago, Haravex said:

how come you get fossil egg shell from saltasaurus from argentina? or is that classified as different or maybe before a ban was put into place?

I believe Argentina has had these laws for a long time, if memory serves 75 years or so, early 1900's. All fossils have been smuggled out, but it is not illegal to circulate them once they have been, and sense it is harder to see that someone has a piece of egg in their pocket than, say, a dinosaur bone, they make it out frequently. This is at least what I have been led to believe.

[Haravex]

I am honestly surprised by this as i have see a lot of reputable websites sell parts of saltasaurus egg shell.

[Miocene_Mason]

9 minutes ago, Haravex said:

I am honestly surprised by this as i have see a lot of reputable websites sell parts of saltasaurus egg shell.

They may be surprised as well, I'm guessing they were not first hand sellers, most likely they bought them wholesale from someone else, who also may have bought it from someone else. 

[-Andy-]

11 hours ago, Haravex said:

I am honestly surprised by this as i have see a lot of reputable websites sell parts of saltasaurus egg shell.

 

Better them circulating those egg shells online than to let the government have it. My friend tried to bring out a shipment of those eggs from Argentina, got caught, and the egg shells were destroyed by the customs. Like, why? If you are going to stop people from smuggling those out, at least have the decency to put them in a museum or something.

[Haravex]

its the authorities that are the bigger criminals in this case and scenarios like this.

[taj]

I would suggest definitively Morocco .

If you need a guide there , I can provide you with a very good reference .

As for the law status , as everything in this country , it is a matter of interpretation, but things seems to be moving in a more restrictive direction .

Not quite yet though , I believe ...

[-Andy-]

10 hours ago, taj said:

I would suggest definitively Morocco .

If you need a guide there , I can provide you with a very good reference .

As for the law status , as everything in this country , it is a matter of interpretation, but things seems to be moving in a more restrictive direction .

Not quite yet though , I believe ...

 

Just today, I saw 2 Moroccans shaming a collector on FB when he shared pics of his Moroccan fossil. If this goes on, Moroccan fossil laws could become as restrictive as China.

[Flx]

I know about Switzerland.  I checked with the authorities here...
Dinosaur fossils belong to the canton. You cannot collect or sell them.

In most Cantons, fossils without a vertebra (e.g. ammonites) are ok to collect and sell.

[Flx]

Informative link: http://www.aaps-journal.org/Fossil-Laws.html

[Fossildude19]

Personally speaking, I would not rely on conjecture, maybes, or offered advice, found on an internet forum, where matters of legality and the law are concerned.  

 

The onus is on you to do the research involved, concerning the laws of each country.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse to those who interpret/enforce said laws.

 

Caveat emptor.

 

[Miocene_Mason]

11 minutes ago, Haravex said:

Australia - Vertebrae No - invertebrate Yes however only for common species 

 

You sure about this? I remember an auction by  @Jesuslover340 and @Ash of some Australian megafauna. Maybe they can educate us on Australian fossil laws.

[Kane]

Certainly attempting to have all the fossil collecting laws in one place is a considerable undertaking, not least of which because there may be numerous conditions, and these may vary by state, province or region within a country - if not also on the basis of how the land is zoned. What also compromises the effectiveness of a single compiled resource would be the need to update on occasion as laws do change. Another missing component beyond collecting and export would be import laws.

 

As a general rule, it is incumbent upon us as collectors to avail ourselves of the laws of wherever we choose to collect, and that may require reading the actual laws themselves. In many cases it is much more nuanced than "yes/no" or "vertebrate/invertebrate." For that reason, it is essential to read the actual laws and not rely on hearsay and conjecture. Moreover, even if we hear anecdotes of others who have contravened the laws and not got into any legal trouble, that is no guarantee that one will experience the same good luck.  

[Miocene_Mason]

4 minutes ago, Kane said:

Certainly attempting to have all the fossil collecting laws in one place is a considerable undertaking, not least of which because there may be numerous conditions, and these may vary by state, province or region within a country - if not also on the basis of how the land is zoned. What also compromises the effectiveness of a single compiled resource would be the need to update on occasion as laws do change. Another missing component beyond collecting and export would be import laws.

 

As a general rule, it is incumbent upon us as collectors to avail ourselves of the laws of wherever we choose to collect, and that may require reading the actual laws themselves. In many cases it is much more nuanced than "yes/no" or "vertebrate/invertebrate." For that reason, it is essential to read the actual laws and not rely on hearsay and conjecture. Moreover, even if we hear anecdotes of others who have contravened the laws and not got into any legal trouble, that is no guarantee that one will experience the same good luck.  

It's good to have a general idea, so you can pick one to look into for a visit.this is of course, if it can be done.

[Haravex]

This is a general guide call it rule of thumb, as I see a lot of questions about this asked without much information in one single location or very broken, @WhodamanHD yes anyone who can contribute from Australia on there knowledge, and again is for the community overall and can be edited when and is needed. 

[Kane]

1 minute ago, Haravex said:

This is a general guide call it rule of thumb, as I see a lot of questions about this asked without much information in one single location or very broken, @WhodamanHD yes anyone who can contribute from Australia on there knowledge, and again is for the community overall and can be edited when and is needed. 

If such a feature were to be hosted here, it would probably be essential to provide a caveat for legal reasons. We certainly don't want anyone to violate laws on the basis of what we have posted here if the information is out of date. Again, nothing replaces doing one's own research and confirming the laws via official government legislation.