Hello all! This is the first of what I hope will be a monthly post highlighting various pets, toys, mounts, transmog, etc. that can be collected in game (and usually in older content).
March’s Collectors Spotlight focuses on both a mount and pet duo. Although they aren’t a package deal, and must be earned individually, they go together rather nicely. They also both come from the now-neglected and put out to pasture profession of archaeology.
Mount: Fossilized Raptor
For the Mount, we have the Fossilized Raptor which is an intact raptor skeleton. The mount is learned through a rare item that can be rewarded for solving Fossil artifacts. Once you get the item, the mount can be crafted with an Archaeology skill or 75, or higher, and 100 Fossil Archaeology Fragments.
Pet: Fossilized Hatchling
Matching the Raptor is the pet Fossilized Hatchling which is basically the mount model in hatchling proportions. The pet, like the mount, is learned through a rare item reward for solving Fossil artifacts. Using the item, or crafting the pet, requires an Archaeology skill of 75, or higher, and 85 Fossil Archaeology Fragments.
Archaeology and Fossil Sites
Archaeology can be learned in major cities on Kalimdor and in The Eastern Kingdoms. It is a secondary profession, like cooking or fishing, so it can be learned by anyone no matter what your primary professions are.
To find Fossil digsites, open your map and look for a small shovel icon on the continent maps of Kalimdor and The Eastern Kingdoms. Make sure you’re tracking digsites on your map. Zooming in to the zone maps, digsite areas should be shown as colored areas. You then fly to those digsites and start surveying to find fragments to dig up. Your Archaeology Journal will then let you complete, or solve, artifacts using the fragments you’ve dug up. Wowhead has a good archaeology guide here.
There is definitely some grinding involved in this, but I find it’s easier with higher level characters so you don’t need to worry about the mobs in the area. That said, Fossil sites can be hard to come by and you might have to complete sites for other digsite types in order to get Fossil sites to spawn. While this can help with leveling Archaeology, it can also be annoying. If your Achaeology skill is at 600 or higher, you can also buy a small amount of Fossil fragments from archaeology trainers in Legion Dalaran, Ashran, and the Seat of Knowledge (in The Vale of Eternal Blossoms) for 1 Restored Artifact. Restored Artifacts can be created by clicking on restored artifacts (instead of selling them) from the Mists of Pandaria expansion and, I believe, Warlords of Draenor, Legion, and Battle for Azeroth.
For those who haven’t leveled archaeology, it can be a good source of not just this mount and pet but other mounts, pets, and toys. It may feel like a slog but if it’s your kind of thing, and you like raptor skeletons, I wish you luck on your new endeavor!
warcraftsolo.com 
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