White River Oligocene Prep - Eumys

[ParkerPaleo]

With my last project wrapping up, this small skull was sitting on my desk and needs to get done.  Way too much of my collection is in a half done state.

 

Eumys is a cricetid, which includes modern voles, hamsters, mice and rats.  When identifying one, the primary character I use is the shape of M1 and the fact it has no premolars.  It's the only White River rodent I'm aware of with 3 teeth in the maxilla, most have 4 or 5 (I am prepared to be contradicted  ) .  M1 is very distinctive in that it has 5 cones.

 

 

My plan is to remove the matrix from the side of the skull and expose the zygomatic (if its fully there).  Will leave matrix in the orbits for stability.  Then cut the base of the block below the occiptals and have the nose pointing in the air.  I have been doing alot of pin and vice work to get it to this current state, I'll use a MicroJack-3 to get rid of the majority of the block.  Not the greatest skull, and I have some better ones, but definitely something that you don't see every day.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Very interesting, good luck with that and I hope to see more as this project proceeds. 

[jpc]

Another fun one.  I cannot call you on your rodent ID.  : )

 

Are these two specimens form WY or SD?  Or .... ?  

[ParkerPaleo]

Both are from near Douglas, Wyoming.  The vast majority of our collection's 'micro' fauna is from there.  I have a handful of rodent skulls from Nebraska/SD, mostly Ischyromys.  I know of a few other burrow communities from literature but we'd need someone with a federal permit to collect them.  I'm of the opinion that most of the rodent/tiny material that comes out of Nebraska is eroded before it makes its appearance on the surface.  The softer muds/clays just don't allow the specimen to survive long enough to be collected.

 

I really get more value when you have input that doesn't agree with mine   I learn more that way.  

 

On the prep side, for my lunch break, I broke the specimen twice.  It's all back together and I can confirm the zygomatic is there, very clean breaks in the matrix.  When I prepared for the KU museum, my curator always chose the worst moment to stick his head over my shoulder and see what I had broken.  He said all preparators break things, the good ones just don't get caught.

 

 

 

 

[RJB]

  Dang small fossil but very cool to see you go about this.  and for sure,  this is something we dont see everyday.  Thanks for sharing

 

RB

[ParkerPaleo]

There is an amazing diversity within the White River, far greater than most fossil enthusiasts know.  Probably upwards of 100 genera.  I am just hoping to share my love of the Oligocene and a bit of my collection as I work on it.  This is all just practice for the things i want to be working on.  Need to get my hands/eyes back after a long time away from the prep bench.

[Ptychodus04]

On 11/22/2019 at 5:20 PM, ParkerPaleo said:

He said all preparators break things, the good ones just don't get caught.

Or you can’t tell they broke it if you didn’t see them do it. 

[siteseer]

On 11/22/2019 at 3:20 PM, ParkerPaleo said:

Both are from near Douglas, Wyoming.  The vast majority of our collection's 'micro' fauna is from there.  I have a handful of rodent skulls from Nebraska/SD, mostly Ischyromys.  I know of a few other burrow communities from literature but we'd need someone with a federal permit to collect them.  I'm of the opinion that most of the rodent/tiny material that comes out of Nebraska is eroded before it makes its appearance on the surface.  The softer muds/clays just don't allow the specimen to survive long enough to be collected.

 

I really get more value when you have input that doesn't agree with mine   I learn more that way.  

 

On the prep side, for my lunch break, I broke the specimen twice.  It's all back together and I can confirm the zygomatic is there, very clean breaks in the matrix.  When I prepared for the KU museum, my curator always chose the worst moment to stick his head over my shoulder and see what I had broken.  He said all preparators break things, the good ones just don't get caught.

 

 

 

 

 

In fossil prep the rule is, "Stuff breaks."  If you can stay patient and go slow, less stuff breaks.

 

I've often used a scribe and that Micro Jack is great, but sometimes, all you really need is a pin vise.

 

 

[ParkerPaleo]

12 hours ago, siteseer said:

 

In fossil prep the rule is, "Stuff breaks."  If you can stay patient and go slow, less stuff breaks.

 

I've often used a scribe and that Micro Jack is great, but sometimes, all you really need is a pin vise.

 

 

Absolutely, why I am slowly working my way toward better specimen.  There is certainly a zen quality to being in the right prep state of mind.

[ParkerPaleo]

I had some time this afternoon to work on this skull.  Operation Find the Zygomatic was a success.  Coming along nicely for what's there.

 

Also, this is getting difficult to get decent pictures.  Need to get a camera that attaches to my scope.