Finland has relatively few fossils due to glacial erosion scouring away fossilferous layers. [1] There are Precambrian fossils in Archean and Proterozoic layers from ancient soils, and three layers such as siltsones, mudstones and sandstones at 1650 million years old. [2] In 2016, a fragmentary humerus of a fossil proboscidean (elephant relative), likely Deinotherium, were reported from glacial erratic deposits in southern Finland of likely Miocene age. [1] In Pleistocene deposits, remains of woolly mammoth [3] and woolly rhinoceros have been discovered. [4]
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The paleontological collections at the University of Helsinki (which houses the Finnish Museum of Natural History) consist of around 20,000 plant and animal fossils. [5] These include Paleozoic invertebrates from the Åland Islands, Cenozoic carnivores, perissodactyls, fossilized microbial remains, and plant fossils, along with remains of cave bears, cave lions, and hyenas collected near Odessa, Ukraine. [5] [6] Notable contributors to the collections include Alexander von Nordmann (Cenozoic fossils), Ann Forstén (Perissodactyls fossils), and Björn Kurtén (Cenozoic carnivore fossils). [5]
The Neogene of the Old World, a database of fossil mammals, is housed at the University of Helsinki. The database contains information on Cenozoic land mammal taxa and localities. [7] The Tampere Mineral Museum at the Vapriikki Museum Centre also contains some fossils. [8]