Do fossils fall under the same regulations as artifacts?
A. In order to protect and preserve fossils and paleontology sites, the State of Florida has declared that all vertebrate fossils found on state-owned lands belong to the state with title vested in the Florida Museum of Natural History. The Museum administers a permitting program intended to regulate the buying, selling, or trading of vertebrate fossils found on state-owned land, or the systematic and continued collection from a paleontological site. Application for a permit can be made to the Florida Program of Vertebrate Paleontology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32611. A permit is not required for happenstance or casual retrieval of vertebrate fossils, or for the collection of invertebrate fossils (such as shellfish, coral, and sponges) and fossil shark teeth.
