Guide
Fossil collection software: a guide for palaeontology collectors
Spreadsheets were never designed for fossils. A real fossil collection catalogue needs fields for species, geological period, formation, locality and provenance — all linked, searchable and shareable.
Built for palaeontology
The fields a fossil collector actually needs
Museumica treats fossils as first-class specimens. Every record can carry the scientific and curatorial data that matters to palaeontologists.
Species & taxonomy
Record class, order, genus and species in dedicated fields. Museumica keeps your palaeontological nomenclature structured and searchable, so a revision or synonym never breaks your catalogue.
Geological period & formation
Capture era, period, stage, formation and approximate age in millions of years. Group your Devonian trilobites or Jurassic ammonites with a single filter.
Locality & stratigraphy
Store the quarry, region, country, GPS coordinates and stratigraphic unit. Provenance attaches directly to the specimen, so a dig site never drifts away from the fossil it describes.
Accession & valuation
Track acquisition date, purchase price, dealer, insurance value and preparation history privately. Public museum pages hide financial data automatically.
AI-assisted descriptions
Turn a terse set of fields into polished, museum-quality prose. The AI uses your real metadata, so it never invents a period or locality.
Spreadsheets vs. Museumica
Why generic spreadsheets fall short
- One flat row forces you to flatten complex palaeontological data into a single cell.
- Photos, field notes and stratigraphic maps live in scattered folders.
- A typo in the formation name breaks sorting and makes reports unreliable.
- Sharing means exporting fragile files; online spreadsheets expose private valuations.
- There is no public museum view for visitors or fellow fossil collectors.
What you get with Museumica
- Structured fields validated for fossil data.
- Unlimited images attached to each specimen record.
- Interactive map of collection localities.
- Museum-quality labels with species, period and accession number.
- A public museum page you control — private notes stay hidden.
- CSV and PDF export whenever you want your data back.
Getting started
How to move your fossil collection into Museumica
- 01
Create a free workspace
Sign up and claim your personal URL at www.museumica.com/your-name.
- 02
Add your first fossil
Fill in species, period, formation, locality, photos and provenance. Or import a CSV if you already have a spreadsheet.
- 03
Organise and publish
Group specimens into collections, print labels, and optionally publish a public museum for fellow collectors.
FAQ
Common questions
- Can I import my existing fossil spreadsheet?
- Yes. Museumica supports CSV import and maps common columns like species, period, formation and locality into the right fields.
- Is there a free plan?
- The Hobby plan is free for personal collections and includes all core palaeontology fields.
- Can I keep my collection private?
- Absolutely. All specimens are private by default. You choose which collections or exhibitions to publish.
- Does it work on mobile?
- Yes. The interface is responsive, so you can photograph a new find and log it from your phone, even in the field.
Ready to catalogue your fossils properly?
Join collectors who have moved from brittle spreadsheets to a real fossil collection manager.
Start free — no credit card required