Earth and Planetary Sciences collection

The Fossil Collection comprises approximately 1,500,000 specimens and is divided into five main categories: vertebrate body fossils, invertebrate body fossils, plant fossils, structures built by bacteria (ie, stromatolites), and trace fossils (eg, trackways and burrows).

Specimens from all continents are represented, although the main focus of the collection is on Western Australia.

Within the vertebrate fossils collection, significant items include:

The Meteorite Collection at the Western Australian Museum is recognised internationally as one of the most significant in the southern hemisphere.

The collection contains around 14000 specimens from 750 distinct and described meteorites. These specimens represent most of the 46 known groups of meteorites, plus a number of anomalous and unique meteorites.

The Earth and Planetary Sciences department at the Western Australian Museum maintains a comprehensive reference collection of minerals from Western Australia.

The Mineral Collection comprises three components:

The Earth and Planetary Sciences department at the Western Australian Museum maintains a small but diverse collection of rocks. The department’s rocks are mostly derived from Western Australia, but also include a range sourced from international localities.

This collection includes historic rock specimens from early Western Australian explorers such as Edward T. Hardman and the Elder Expedition.

More recent additions to the Rock Collection include: