Fish prep

[Top Trilo]

Finished this fish yesterday, preservation wasn’t terrible. The head Isn’t preserved well and neither is the tips of the fins but anything is better than my first prep which was on an exploded knightia. Could of turned out better but I’m satisfied with it.

I have a couple questions. 
1. can you tell if it is a priscacara or a cockerellites? I believe they are two different genera with different species.

2. What is the part in front of the fish’s head? It’s not bone, it’s very thin and different, I have no idea what it is. Oh and I was prepping with a not so sharp needle thing, criticism and tips are welcome 

Edited March 25, 2021 by Top Trilo

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

Great work, must have been painstaking! Also, love your signature!

[Top Trilo]

Just now, IsaacTheFossilMan said:

Also, love your signature!

Thank you I created it Tuesday, took a few hours to find them. So many great people and lines though but I had to keep it short

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

1 minute ago, Top Trilo said:

Thank you I created it Tuesday, took a few hours to find them. So many great people and lines though but I had to keep it short

Indeed. Good prep work, I would recommend a sharp needle, I use a pin vice with an array of different sized needles, from tiny sewing ones to tapestry ones - they're incredibly helpful!

[Fossildude19]

 

 

 

 

From THIS PDF.  Time to start counting rays.     ( P .liops is now C. liops. )

 

 

 

[Fossildude19]

@Top Trilo  

Can you indicate what piece in front of the skull you are asking about?

All I see are fragile skull bones.  

[KompsFossilsNMinerals]

42 minutes ago, Top Trilo said:

Finished this fish yesterday, preservation wasn’t terrible. The head Isn’t preserved well and neither is the tips of the fins but anything is better than my first prep which was on an exploded knightia. Could of turned out better but I’m satisfied with it.

I have a couple questions. 
1. can you tell if it is a priscacara or a cockerellites? I believe they are two different genera with different species.

2. What is the part in front of the fish’s head? It’s not bone, it’s very thin and different, I have no idea what it is. Oh and I was prepping with a not so sharp needle thing, criticism and tips are welcome 

Great prep! Its very reminiscent of my first Cockerellites prep, pic related. The layer ontop of the Cockerellites' face is usually harder to get rid of, however I think that spending some time removing it will definitely make the difference. Great prep!

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by KompsFossilsNMinerals
accidentally added 2 photos

[KompsFossilsNMinerals]

5 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

@Top Trilo  

Can you indicate what piece in front of the skull you are asking about?

All I see are fragile skull bones.  

I believe that they were talking about the layer of matrix above the Cockerellites' face, which is usually harder to remove. Some patience and some time will really help bring out the face 

[Fossildude19]

1 minute ago, KompsFossilsNMinerals said:

I believe that they were talking about the layer of matrix above the Cockerellites' face, which is usually harder to remove. Some patience and some time will really help bring out the face 

 

 

If it is there, which I am not convinced that it is.   

[KompsFossilsNMinerals]

4 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

 

If it is there, which I am not convinced that it is.   

In the attached screenshot, you can see that there is some bone (and potentially more of the face), underneath the layer. It is pretty hard to tell though... 

Edited March 25, 2021 by KompsFossilsNMinerals

[jpc]

Nice work.  I think others are right there ought to be more fishface in there.

 

Grammar Police says:  Could have, not could of.  

[Top Trilo]

Thanks guys I was not aware more bone may be under this harder matrix and will work on that later. 

9 hours ago, KompsFossilsNMinerals said:

In the attached screenshot, you can see that there is some bone (and potentially more of the face), underneath the layer. It is pretty hard to tell though... 

The image is misleading the bone is actually higher than the matrix which is why I wasn't sure if anything was there. Will try to see if I can find more thanks for the help

[Top Trilo]

I worked a little bit directly in front of the bone, went far deeper than any bone would be and there is nothing but more soft matrix. Either way I had a lot of fun doing it and learned a lot which is a win. 

[Huntonia]

Nice work! 

12 hours ago, Top Trilo said:

Oh and I was prepping with a not so sharp needle thing, criticism and tips are welcome 

Sounds like you could use some equipment upgrades, fortunately for mechanical prepping that's pretty affordable. I'd recommend you get a tungsten carbide scriber, ones like these are quite cheap

Some dental picks and a headband magnifier could go a long ways too 

[Top Trilo]

12 hours ago, Huntonia said:

Nice work! 

Sounds like you could use some equipment upgrades, fortunately for mechanical prepping that's pretty affordable. I'd recommend you get a tungsten carbide scriber, ones like these are quite cheap

Some dental picks and a headband magnifier could go a long ways too 

I will definitely look into those

On 3/25/2021 at 7:53 AM, Fossildude19 said:

 

 

 

 

From THIS PDF.  Time to start counting rays.     ( P .liops is now C. liops. )

 

 

 

Thank you Tim for this it looks like it aligns best with P. Serrata

[Fossildude19]

I like the General Tools pocket scribers.