Fossils of Finland

Fossils of Finland consist of animal fossils and plant fossils spanning multiple geological eras, associated with the fields of paleontology and paleobotany. Fossils in Finland span the Precambrian and Cenozoic eras.^{[citation needed]} There are Precambrian fossils in Archean and Proterozoic layers from ancient soils, and three layers such as siltsones, mudstones and sandstones at 1650 million years old.^[1] In the Pleistocene layer, horns of a Finnish woolly rhinoceros were discovered.^[2]

Natural history collections

The paleontological collections at the University of Helsinki (which houses the Finnish Museum of Natural History) consist of around 20,000 plant and animal fossils.^[3] These include Paleozoic invertebrates from the Åland Islands, Cenozoic carnivores, perissodactyls, fossilized microbial remains, and plant fossils, along with remains of cave bears, cave lions, and hyenas collected near Odessa, Ukraine.^[3]^[4] Notable contributors to the collections include Alexander von Nordmann (Cenozoic fossils), Ann Forstén (Perissodactyls fossils), and Björn Kurtén (Cenozoic carnivore fossils).^[3] In 2023, a reconstructed model of Sacabambaspis in Natural History Museum of Helsinki became popular as a source of memes.^[5]

The Neogene of the Old World, a database of fossil mammals, is housed at the University of Helsinki. The database contains information on Cenozoic land mammal taxa and localities.^[6] The Tampere Mineral Museum at the Vapriikki Museum Centre also contains some fossils.^[7]

Alexander von Nordmann (1803–1866), a Finnish biologist who contributed to zoology, parasitology, botany and paleontology^[8]
Ann Forstén (1939–2002), a Finnish paleontologist known for her work on horse fossils^[8]
Björn Kurtén (1924–1988), a Finnish vertebrate paleontologist and writer^[8]
Marjatta Aalto (born 1939), a Finnish botanist and mycologist known for her work in paleobotany, ethnobotany, and archaeobotany^[8]
Mikael Fortelius (born 1954), a Finnish professor of evolutionary palaeontology and the coordinator of the Neogene of the Old World database^[8]
Jukka Jernvall (born 1963), a Finnish evolutionary biologist^[8]

^ Precambrian Geology of Finland. Elsevier. 2005. ISBN 978-0-08-045759-8 – via Google Books.
^ Fortelius, Mikael (1983-09-01). "The Morphology and Paleobiological Significance of the Horns of Coelodonta antiquitatis (Mammalia: Rhinocerotidae)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 3 (2): 125–135. Bibcode:1983JVPal...3..125F. doi:10.1080/02724634.1983.10011964. JSTOR 4522937.125-135&rft.date=1983-09-01&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4522937#id-name=JSTOR&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/02724634.1983.10011964&rft_id=info:bibcode/1983JVPal...3..125F&rft.aulast=Fortelius&rft.aufirst=Mikael&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4522937&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fossils of Finland" class="Z3988">
^ ^a ^b ^c "Luomus Palaeontological Collections". University of Helsinki.
^ "Palaeontology Collection Policy". Research Ideas and Outcomes.
^ Amber V (16 June 2023). "470-million-year-old fish Sacabambaspis goes viral in Japan, Among Us dev joins in on fun". Automaton Media. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
^ "NOW Database".
^ "Tampere Mineral Museum".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Donner, K (April 2014). "Between hard rock and open space: Constraints and freedom of Finnish paleontology" (PDF). Annales Zoologici Fennici.