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As I move through my queue, I may as well post to one thread. The most recent prep is another Asaphus lepidurus. I learn something new with each one.
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After 48 total hours of very challenging work, an 80 mm Asaphus lepidurus is complete. I've prepared this species before, but this one was the toughest on account of very sticky, hard, calcitic matrix glued right to the shell, which meant very slow and extremely careful scribing under very high magnification. At times, I was removing matrix by the grain! This was the block when I received it with a bit of the bug poking out of the side.
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This being my second attempt at restoration, I still have a lot to learn. I thought I'd showcase my attempt here as I continue to practice and (hopefully) improve my skills. The trilobite selected for this attempt is a common Eldredgeops rana from Penn Dixie. I have tons of these common ones, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I botched it. This one came out of some harder Windom matrix, and a lot of the left side and pygidium were lost. It also is an unattractive specimen on account of it having a bit too much "character" (i.e., serious crush damage, twisted, and as if stepped on by some Devonian boot). Both genals are folded underneath, the whole bug lists to one side, and the glabella is crushed. In other words, a perfect candidate for a resto attempt. Here is roughly how it looked before I took on this task:
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Put in a good 17 hours on what was supposed to be a quick and easy prep. This was from my excellent Russian connection, and I was under no illusion that there wouldn't be some problems with this bug. This will have been the third Asaphus lepidurus I've prepared this year, and the second in this orientation. Already, there is a fracture in the last pleural segment / facet nearest the pygidium, so this was going to be a practice prep.
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There are several expert preparators who eke out a living collecting and preparing their finds. There are those finds that are just too problematic to deal with, and so get tossed into the chuck pile for whatever reason: missing parts, discolouration from mineralization, compaction damage, or just too time consuming to make good ROI. Some of them will offer up these B-grade pieces for sale for relatively cheap so that folks like me who don't have access to some sites can give it a whirl and get much needed prep practice. One of my main goals of preparation is to learn something new each time, which isn't hard as I've only been preparing with air tools on occasion for a little over a year. I get to learn how to approach different species, challenges, matrix types, try out different techniques, and -- the best teacher of all -- by making mistakes. So this was the piece I acquired cheaply, a Illaenus sinuatus. The specimen came out, as a good number of them do, in pieces and was glued together in the field with good Russian glue. There was a preparation attempt, but it was likely decided it wasn't worth the time to pursue this one given its many problems.
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Thought I would "show my work" in the process of preparing this trilobite. It is a first for me in a few ways: the first Isotelus I've prepared, and the first time performing restoration. After about 30 hours, it isn't perfect, but there were some challenges along the way. I found this specimen in October during the biannual trip to Bowmanville. It is an Isotelus "mafritzae" morph type 'A' (presence of genal spine distinguishes it from morph type 'B'). This is middle Ordovician, Cobourg Fm, Hillier Mbr. When initially found, only the left pleural facets were showing. Given where it had been exposed, some exfoliation is present. Once split, and then sawed from the larger rock, a few other fragments of cuticle popped off that needed to be glued back on. What it initially looked like after splitting and sawing:
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UPDATE: Consolidated all my loose preparation threads into one topic. Four hours so far into this big bug, and maybe another two to go. Found at Penn Dixie this past weekend, the visible area measures 6 cm. With the pygidium, it likely measured about 8+ cm. Judging by its size and pustular sculpture, this was likely a long-lived specimen prior to burial. This is how it looked fresh in the field:
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Hi, I was wondering if anyone was located around the NW GA area. I am a total noob and would love to meet some experienced people. I’m in the Rocky Face/ Dalton area. Thanks, Dennis
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So I thought I had this one figured out, but it looks like I was off. I thought I found Parvohallopora rugosa today, but I found it in the Corryville formation. According to the website I was using to research it, it is not found in that formation. So now I'm guessing Parvohallopora ramosa, but it has ridges like P. rugosa. Can P. ramosa form ridges too? From the descriptions and pictures I've seen, it doesn't have ridges, just monticules (I hope that's the right word) that are sharp and evenly spaced.
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I'm trying to learn the "rules" of fossils. Such as, if you have one buried deep in rock, is it ok to dig it out yourself, or do you take it to someone to dig it out? What's the best way to store fossils? Is there a general labeling system that people use, or do you use your own? I'm just trying to get a feel for the DOs and DON'Ts of fossils.
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I'm pretty sure it's a brachiopod. After that, I'm lost. I have a book that I'm using, and it matches a picture of a Torquirhynchia, but it says those are found only in Europe. This one was found at the Trammel Fossil Park. http://drydredgers.org/fieldtrips/trammel_fossil_park.htm I don't remember in what layer I found it. Side note, here's a close up of the tiny fossil next to it.
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Any relevant Scholarly articles on the evolution of Conifers & Angiosperms?
MeargleSchmeargl posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
In school, I am doing a phylum project, where we discuss in detail about a certain phylum from the Eukaryotic kingdoms. Desperately wanted to do Arthropoda (as I have collected this quite frequently and am quite fond of them, as you may already know), but we were last to choose due to chance, and Arthropoda was long gone In the end, we were given the plant phylums of Angiosperms and Conifers. I personally came to the agreement that I would research their evolutionary lines, seeing I am passionate in all things paleontology. I know some about the evolutionary line, such as that Conifers first appeared 320 MYA in the Pennsylvanian and Angiosperms came about 125 MYA in the early Cretaceous, but beyond that, I know very little about their evolutionary lines. Knowing the kinds of incredibly knowledgeable people that come here, TFF was the first place I turned to. Here, I'd like to pool any and all relevant articles. Any contributions are very welcome! -
Gone to youtube in hope of showing newbie how working with fossils and tools look like however not many videos like how to drill or work on certain fossils from scratch. Anyone know of any full length videos people can watch ?
