Vertebrate Paleontology is the study of fossil fishes, sharks, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals — animals with internal skeletons including a backbone composed of a series of vertebrae. The IMNH collection holds over 50,000 cataloged specimens of fossil vertebrates, ranging in size from the tiny teeth of bats, shrews, and rodents, to giant ground sloths and mammoths. Our collections are primarily from Idaho and the Intermountain West. They include representatives of every class of fossil vertebrates, but fossil mammals from the Cenozoic (the last 65 million years) form the bulk of the collections. 

The Vertebrate Paleontology section explores, excavates, records, prepares, conserves, and researches the fossil resources in the collection at IMNH. In addition to working with private, university, and municipal agencies, IMNH is an official repository for specimens collected from State, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forest (NFSL), and Department of Energy (DOE) lands throughout Idaho and adjacent states.