Me and my dad found a fossil,I want to know what animal it is and how much is it worth. plz help?

Question

here are the pictures

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z128/kloya71595/?action=view&current=Photo075.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z128/kloya71595/?action=view&current=Photo074.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z128/kloya71595/?action=view&current=Photo072.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z128/kloya71595/?action=view&current=Photo073.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z128/kloya71595/?action=view&current=Photo069.jpg

oh and by the way the stick in the two pictures is a ruler

Answer 1

It is an ammonite (belongs to the nautiloid subclass of organisms) of some sort.  It would have existed sometime from the Silurian through the Cretacious (so basically the mid-Paleozoic through the end of the Mesozoic eras).  As for the exact species, try posting this in the geology section (All Categories => Science & Mathematics => Earth Sciences & Geology) for a more detailed answer.

As far as how much it is worth goes, I am not one to encourage selling fossils, but I will say that it really depends on how much others are willing to pay.  I would check eBay for a range of prices that ammonites of that size and condition tend to go for.  If you know from where (exactly where - both stratum and horizontal location) it came, it could be worth more since you would have good provenience information for it.  Someone would actually be able to do something with it, even if it were just having that information with the fossil while putting it on display.

You may want to take it to an invertebrate paleontologist for a closer look, as well.  It is a very neat fossil!  I wish I could tell you more, but I'm an archaeologist, not a paleontologist.  I take geology (including paleontology) classes for fun.

Edit:

Fossil collecting is only illegal in certain circumstances, such as on federal land (for example, a National Park).  Collecting on private land is legal as long as the collector has the permission of the land owner.  Generally, vertebrate fossils have more protections than invertebrate fossils.  Sue, the T. rex found a while back, was allowed to be auctioned off by its owners because it was not collected on federal land.  The way the law is set up does hurt paleontological studies and our ability to study the past, but it protects private ownership (attempting to protect fossils on private land through the law gets very complicated and contentious).  As long as your fossil was collected on private land, you should be fine (and if it was collected on public land, it might still be fine - some invertebrate fossils are not protected).  For more information, do a search on "fossil law" for your country and region/state (the information here relates to the USA).

Answer 2

If the remains are paleontological…you and your dad have violated federal law. The law requires anyone discovering paleontological remains to notify competent authority for the proper retrieval and disposition of said remains. Sell them and look for a jail sentence.

Study them under proper conditions and become a paleontologist! Good luck.

Jim D