Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Fossil guide
One of the most useful types of items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons are fossils that you can find in your village. Not only are these fossils important for filling your museum with stunning exhibits, but they can also be sold for serious Bells at the town shop, too! Here's our full overview of all there is to know about fossils, including where and how to find them, what to do with them, a complete list of every fossil in the game, and how many Bells you can get for them.
Welcome to island life
The joyful game the world needs
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a happy and pleasant life sim that's filled with personality and charm. There's plenty to do and plenty to see, and as you build yourself an island paradise, you can make lasting friendships with your animal villagers.
Where to find fossils
While you may think trying to find ancient bones buried underneath the ground will be difficult, it's actually pretty easy and straightforward in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As you walk around your village, you may come across star-shaped depressions in the ground. If you take your shovel tool and dig in this spot, you'll come across a fossil. In some rare cases, it may be another object. During the Bunny Day holiday, for example, you might find Earth eggs; however, the vast majority of the time, these spots contain fossils in them.
You can find up to four fossils per day in your village, so we recommend thoroughly searching every bit of land on the island. You can also come across these valuable pieces of history when you take Mystery Island Tours. Fossils can be buried anywhere, including tricky spots like on the edges of small cliffs, so keep a sharp eye out.
Getting your fossils assessed
Now that you have some fossils, you'll need to have Blathers, the owl that operates the town museum, assess them. If you don't have them assessed, they won't sell for much at Nook's Cranny, and Blathers won't be able to accept them as donations either. You need to have them assessed. Who would want to buy some unknown lump of questionable dirt anyway?
Thankfully, getting the fossils assessed is a quick and straightforward process. Here's what you need to do:
- Enter the museum.
- Speak to Blathers.
- Select Assess fossils.
- Select all of the fossils in your inventory.
- Press the + Button to confirm.
Once you do this, Blathers will identify what each fossil is. You can easily tell the difference between assessed fossils and unassessed ones in your inventory by the skull-and-bones icon. Hovering over an assessed fossil in your inventory will show you what specific type it is.
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What to do with fossils
Now that you've gotten your fossils identified, there are three main things that you can do with them. Firstly, you can donate them to your museum by speaking to Blathers and telling him that you want to donate, just as you would with bugs or fish. If Blathers notices a fossil the museum doesn't have yet, he'll ask if you want to donate it after his assessment. We recommend doing this since the exhibit looks really cool once you fill it with fossils, and you'll be rewarded with Nook Miles for your donation efforts. Once you donate a fossil type once, though, Blathers won't take any duplicates in the future.
Your second option is to sell them for Bells, which can be surprisingly lucrative. Each fossil in the game sells for at least 1,000 Bells, and most of them will sell for more than that. Duplicate fossils can get you anywhere between 10,000-15,000 Bells daily. Not bad for digging some holes!
Lastly, you have the option of using assessed fossils as furniture, which is a cool way to add some unique flair to a room in your house. Since you can place furniture outside, too, you could also get creative and design a custom outdoor fossil exhibit if you want to. Just be aware that many fossils are massive and take up a lot of space.
A complete list of fossils and their selling prices
There are a whopping 73 unique fossils to find in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and each one comes with its own selling price. Some pieces are standalone, while others are part of a set. Here's a full list of every fossil in the game.
Fossil name | Fossile class | Selling price |
---|---|---|
Acanthostega | Standalone | 2,000 Bells |
Amber | Standalone | 1,200 Bells |
Ammonite | Standalone | 1,100 Bells |
Anomalocaris | Standalone | 2,000 Bells |
Archaeopteryx | Standalone | 1,300 Bells |
Australopith | Standalone | 1,100 Bells |
Coprolite | Standalone | 1,100 Bells |
Dinosaur track | Standalone | 1,000 Bells |
Dunkleosteus | Standalone | 3,500 Bells |
Eusthenopteron | Standalone | 2,000 Bells |
Juramaia | Standalone | 1,000 Bells |
Myllokunmingia | Standalone | 1,500 Bells |
Shark-tooth pattern | Standalone | 1,000 Bells |
Trilobite | Standalone | 1,300 Bells |
Ankylo skull | Ankylosaurus | 5,000 Bells |
Ankylo torso | Ankylosaurus | 3,000 Bells |
Ankylo tail | Ankylosaurus | 2,500 Bells |
Archelon skull | Archelon | 4,000 Bells |
Archelon tail | Archelon | 3,500 Bells |
Brachio skull | Brachiosaurus | 6,000 Bells |
Brachio chest | Brachiosaurus | 5,500 Bells |
Brachio pelvis | Brachiosaurus | 5,000 Bells |
Brachio tail | Brachiosaurus | 5,500 Bells |
Deinony torso | Deinonychus | 3,000 Bells |
Deinony tail | Deinonychus | 2,500 Bells |
Dimetrodon skull | Dimetrodon | 5,500 Bells |
Dimetrodon torso | Dimetrodon | 5,000 Bells |
Diplo skull | Diplodocus | 5,000 Bells |
Diplo neck | Diplodocus | 4,500 Bells |
Diplo chest | Diplodocus | 4,000 Bells |
Diplo pelvis | Diplodocus | 4,500 Bells |
Diplo tail | Diplodocus | 5,000 Bells |
Diplo tail tip | Diplodocus | 4,000 Bells |
Iguanodon skull | Iguanodon | 4,000 Bells |
Iguanodon torso | Iguanodon | 3,500 Bells |
Iguanodon tail | Iguanodon | 3,000 Bells |
Mammoth skull | Mammoth | 3,000 Bells |
Mammoth torso | Mammoth | 2,500 Bells |
Megacero skull | Megacerops | 4,500 Bells |
Megacero torso | Megacerops | 3,500 Bells |
Megacero tail | Megacerops | 3,000 Bells |
Left Megalo side | Megaloceros | 4,000 Bells |
Right Megalo side | Megaloceros | 5,500 Bells |
Ophthalmo skull | Ophthalmosaurus | 2,500 Bells |
Ophthalmo torso | Ophthalmosaurus | 2,000 Bells |
Pachysaurus skull | Pachycephalosaurus | 4,000 Bells |
Pachysaurus tail | Pachycephalosaurus | 3,500 Bells |
Parasaur skull | Parasaurolophus | 3,500 Bells |
Parasaur torso | Parasaurolophus | 3,000 Bells |
Parasaur tail | Parasaurolophus | 2,500 Bells |
Plesio skull | Plesiosaurus | 4,000 Bells |
Plesio tail | Plesiosaurus | 4,500 Bells |
Plesio body | Plesiosaurus | 4,500 Bells |
Ptera body | Pteranodon | 4,000 Bells |
Right Ptera wing | Pteranodon | 4,500 Bells |
Left Ptera wing | Pteranodon | 4,500 Bells |
Quetzal torso | Quetzalcoatlus | 4,500 Bells |
Right quetzal wing | Quetzalcoatlus | 5,000 Bells |
Left quetzal wing | Quetzalcoatlus | 5,000 Bells |
Sabertooth skull | Sabertooth tiger | 2,500 Bells |
Sabertooth tail | Sabertooth tiger | 2,000 Bells |
Spino skull | Spinosaurus | 4,000 Bells |
Spino torso | Spinosaurus | 5,000 Bells |
Spino tail | Spinosaurus | 4,000 Bells |
Stego skull | Stegosaurus | 5,000 Bells |
Stego torso | Stegosaurus | 4,500 Bells |
Stego tail | Stegosaurus | 4,000 Bells |
Tricera skull | Triceratops | 5,500 Bells |
Tricera torso | Triceratops | 5,000 Bells |
Tricera tail | Triceratops | 4,500 Bells |
T-Rex skull | Tyrannosaurus rex | 6,000 Bells |
T-Rex torso | Tyrannosaurus rex | 5,500 Bells |
T-Rex tail | Tyrannosaurus rex | 5,000 Bells |
Have you found all your fossils?
Fossil hunting is simple, easy, and if you fill up your museum fast, you can make a lot of Bells to pay off those pesky home loans. A little digging is worth it sometimes, so happy fossil hunting!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available for $60 on Nintendo Switch.
Welcome to island life
The joyful game the world needs
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a happy and pleasant life sim that's filled with personality and charm. There's plenty to do and plenty to see, and as you build yourself an island paradise, you can make lasting friendships with your animal villagers.