Lapid Art

31/05/2026

Fossil Fish Spotlight: Notogoneus 🐟

From the world-famous Green River Formation, this unusual fossil fish is one of the rarer finds from one of the most important fossil sites on Earth.

Unlike smaller schooling fish like Knightia or fast predators such as Mioplosus, Notogoneus was a larger, bottom-dwelling species that could grow up to 3 feet long. With its long, torpedo-shaped body and downturned mouth, it likely fed along the lakebed on small invertebrates and plant material.

These fossils date back to the Eocene, over 50 million years ago, when the region was covered by warm, subtropical lakes.

What makes the Green River Formation so special is the incredible preservation, fish were rapidly buried in fine, oxygen-poor sediment, preserving them in astonishing detail. Many look as if they died just yesterday 🐟✨

Rare, unusual & beautifully preserved, Notogoneus is a true snapshot of an ancient world 🌎

23/05/2026

Do you have a Dinosaur obsessed child & stuck on places to go this half term?!

We are the only place in Lincoln where you can see AND buy your own real dinosaur fossils 🦖

Step into prehistory and take a piece of it home, a selection of some of our incredible pieces you can see up close..

🦷 Spinosaurus tooth - one of the most iconic predatory dinosaurs
🦴 Triceratops bone - from one of the most recognisable herbivores
🥚 Saltasaurus eggshell - a glimpse into dinosaur nesting life
🦷 Carcharodontosaurus tooth - the "T-Rex of Europe"
🦴 Edmontosaurus bone - a classic duck-billed dinosaur from North America
🦷 Triceratops tooth - built for crushing tough prehistoric plants
🦴 Camarasaurus bone - a giant long-necked sauropod from the Jurassic
💩 Dinosaur coprolite - yes, fossilised dino p**p, actually a super important fossil giving us clues how they lived

These aren't replicas like some museums, they're the real deal, each one carrying a story from millions of years ago when dinosaurs ruled the Earth 🌎🦕

With prices from £3 all the way to £300 we have something for every budget, even pocket money!

Whether you're a lifelong fossil fan or just getting into prehistoric life, this is your sign to come and see them in person!

21/05/2026

Celebrating British fossils this Mary Anning Day 🪨⛏️

Today we're honouring Mary Anning, a true pioneer who changed fossil hunting forever!

Working along the cliffs of Lyme Regis, Mary made some of the first major discoveries of prehistoric marine reptiles & helped shape the science of palaeontology as we know it today. At a time when fossil collecting wasn't even fully understood, she proved just how important these finds really were 🔍

To celebrate her legacy, here's a selection of our British fossils from iconic locations:

🐚 Pseudolioceras lythense ammonite - Whitby
🪸 Crinoid Pentacrinites - Lyme Regis
🐚 Asteroceras ammonite - Scunthorpe
⭐️ Starfish bed - Eype, Dorset
🐚 Dactylioceras ammonite - Whitby
🐬 Ichthyosaur vertebrae - Whitby
🐚 Promicroceras ammonite - Lyme Regis

These incredible pieces all come from the same country that Mary Anning shaped fossil history. Her work didn't just uncover fossils, it helped people understand them.

From the Jurassic Coast to the Yorkshire shoreline, Britain remains one of the most important places in the world for fossil discovery & Mary Anning is at the heart of that story.

A legacy built on curiosity, resilience & a passion for uncovering the past 🕰

17/05/2026

These two fossils look similar... but they're not the same species 🔍

On the surface, both of these spiral shells might be reffered to as ammonites, but one is actually a Goniatite & the other a true Ammonite 🐚

Here's where it gets interesting..
Both belong to a larger group of extinct marine animals called Ammonoidea, distant relatives of modern squid & nautilus. But they lived 100's or millions of years apart 🕰

🐚 Goniatites came first, living around 400 - 250 million years ago during the Palaeozoic
Era.
🐚 Ammonites evolved later, during the Mesozoic Era 250 - 66 million years ago, in the age of the dinosaurs.

So what's the visual difference?
〰️ Sutures (the lines on the shell):
Goniatites have much simpler, smoother suture lines. Ammonites are far more complex and detailed, almost like intricate leaf patterns.
🪨 Preservation
Goniatites are often found in marble & tend to look more minimal in design. Ammonites usually show off more elaborate structure & detail.

Two fossils. Similar shape. Very different stories.

25/04/2026

23/04/2026

COME FOSSIL HUNTING WITH US 🪏

Can you believe I’ve owned a fossil shop for 6 YEARS & had never actually been fossil hunting?!

That finally changed this Easter when we took a trip to Whitby and of course, we couldn’t leave the Jurassic Coast without a cheeky fossil hunt 🦴

The weather was absolutely beautiful (a miracle after what feels like 1000 days of rain), so we headed down to Saltwick Bay to see what we could find...

Now when I say “fossil hunting”, it was definitely more fossil scavenging!! No professional tools, no expert setup, just a plastic bucket, a spade & pure optimism 🐚

Lucky for us some ‘professionals’ had already been on the beach before us & left behind what they didn’t want, so I won’t pretend & take the credit for it all...

But for our first ever attempt, I don’t think we did too bad at all:
🦑 A belemnite
🐚 A fair few shells
🍥 And even some ammonite negatives!

Honestly, way more than I expected for complete beginners!

It just goes to show you don’t always need all the gear, sometimes it’s just about getting out there, having a look & enjoying the experience 🪏☀️

19/04/2026

Fossils That Sound Like Dinosaurs... But Aren't 🦎

One of the most common things we hear in the shop is someone pointing at a fossil & asking, "That's a dinosaur, right?"

It's an easy mistake to make. Lots of prehistoric animals have names ending in "- saurus," which simply means "lizard." But not every saurus was actually a dinosaur!

Here are a few of our fossils that often get mistaken for dinosaurs:

🦷 Mosasaurus Tooth - Not a dinosaur, but a giant marine reptile that ruled the oceans around 70-66 million years ago, while dinosaurs ruled the land.

🦎 Keichousaurus Skeleton - A beautifully preserved 220 million year old marine reptile that lived in lagoons during the Triassic Period, long before many famous dinosaurs.

🐊 Elosuchus Tooth - These can look very similar to dinosaur teeth, but they actually belonged to an ancient crocodile relative that lived around 100 million years ago.

🐬 Ichthyosaur Vertebra - From a fast-swimming marine reptile that looked a bit like a dolphin and lived in the oceans during the Jurassic Period.

Even though they aren't technically dinosaurs, these fossils are still incredible pieces of life from the Age of Dinosaurs 🦖

From ocean predators to ancient crocodiles, they show just how diverse the prehistoric world really was 🌎

Remember the fossils that aren't dinosaurs are just as fascinating!

13/04/2026

HOW TO FIND US FROM DINO DIG 🦖

We’ve had lots of messages after our Dino Dig post asking - how do we actually find you?! Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

We timed it & it took us just 10 minutes to walk from Dino Dig to our shop ⏱️ that was with a dinosaur-obsessed 4-year-old AND a pregnant mum, on the hottest day of the year so far, so honestly, not bad going at all!

Something to note -
We are on STEEP HILL, yes, the clue is in the name, you will need to climb THE famous hill!

BUT don’t panic if that’s not your thing.
There’s a super handy walk & ride bus that picks up from Stonebow (near the Works, a couple of mins walk from Dino Dig) up to the Cathedral, from there we’re only a 2 minute walk away 🚌

So whether you fancy the climb or prefer to ride in style, there’s an easy way to reach us!

Of course in my opinion, its totally worth it!
Real dinosaur fossils, unique pieces of history & even pocket-money finds for the kids to take home their very own piece of history 🦖

See you soon, explorers 🔭

Remember Dino City is on throughout the Easter holidays! This is the perfect way to keep the kids entertained with a dinosaur trail, a huge dino fossil to uncover & special visits from Pete the T-Rex and baby dinosaur Luna!
big