The ROM Invertebrate Palaeontology Collection is the second largest collection of this type in Canada (after the Geological Survey of Canada) and represents an irreplaceable systematic resource for researchers and students around the world about invertebrate fossils, fossilized plants, trace fossils, and microbial structures. The collection consists of about half a million specimens, including ca. 700 Holotypes, ca. 3,000 Paratypes, and ca. 10,000 figured and referred specimens.

The collection is global in scope with scientifically significant material spanning the entire geological column and holds the largest and most comprehensive Burgess Shale collection in the world on behalf of Parks Canada. Highlights of our collection are prominently featured in the newly opened Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life.