Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'pygidium underside'.
-
OK, so guess who's using this Covid-related down time to post the topics he never got around to? In late 2013 I visited the Mt Orab "trilobite farm". This was my 3rd or 4th time (and final) and, as were most, I was always fairly lucky finding something. I usually just "dug" in the area where the flexis could be found, once stumbling on the partial Isotelus shown above. This day I decided to lend a hand on the area where Isotelus' were more prevalent. As at Penn Dixie, long crow bars were pounded into the layered shale so that massive pieces could be extracted. Those pieces were then methodically chiseled into smaller and smaller pieces in the hopes of uncovering an Isotelus. One partial was uncovered and folks oohed/aahed and commented about it. But at the end of the day it was laying in the scrap heap. I asked about it and was told by the "owner" of the property that since only a part of it was showing it wasn't worth his time to prep it further. As at many such spots, the impressive ones go to the owner. He told me I could have it. When I got home I wrapped it up good and pondered for a long time on how to prep it. 1 1/2 years later it still wasn't prepped (but still wrapped) and we moved into a big DIY house that I had to put a ton of time into. And the Isotelus was forgotten. And it stayed that way until this past fall/winter when I came across it among the boxes in my basement. "Oh yeah!" This was my first time prepping something so fragile but I decided on a plan. I'm a dremel and dental pick guy but I knew those were not the way. I used the dremel attachment with the sharp point as a chisel and slowly started to chip the dry shale. It worked remarkably well. The "lower" portion is the newly uncovered area. Once I got it completed I decided it needed a covering. It was too brittle and fragile to last. that's where I made my mistake !!!