Is This Crinoid Worth Further Professional Prepping?????

[minnbuckeye]

Six weeks ago, I found this crinoid stem with a broken calyx peeking out of the matrix. Today, I used a Dremel to expose more of the stem . As I look at the specimen after cleaning it a bit, I now am wondering if there might be a slight chance of anything substantial hiding in the rock that might be worth a professional prepper going at. Your thoughts will allow me to make a decision. Thanks for any advice. 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[connorp]

Hmm. The unexposed part of the calyx might end up looking nice once prepped, or maybe not. Hard to say. If this was Ordovician I would say don't bother, but Devonian crinoids are nowhere near as common from the Midwest, so could be worth having someone at least do exploratory prep.

[minnbuckeye]

@Ptychodus04, @jpc, @RJB

[Ptychodus04]

This is a tough one. There’s a good chance of having something there under the matrix but it might not be much. It might be worth an hour of exploratory prep to determine what’s there. At the very least, some abrasive will pretty up what you’ve already exposed.

 

Send me a PM if you want to chat about it further.

[Kane]

I don't know, Mike. Judging by the first image, fickle mother nature has taken her share of most of that calyx.  It is possible that the rest concealed in the matrix might be nice. 

[FossilDAWG]

I'm not even sure that is a calyx.  It looks to me like it could be a root.

 

Don

[erose]

Some of the folks who do professional prep will be happy to let you know if is worth it after they get it.  Hard to say how well it will prep from a photo. But that matrix looks hard and it may not prove worthwhile.

[jpc]

Methinks the answer to the question would depend a lot on a test attempt at prepping it.  At last from my perspective.  The matrix is very different from anything I have worked on. The preservation seen in the broken sections is similar to echinoderms I have prepped from Switzerland, which did prep out nicely with ye ole air abrasion unit and microscope.  

[minnbuckeye]

I had a brain freeze when starting this post. The crinoid is NOT Devonian, but Mississippian!!! I doubt if that changes the wonderful advice thrown my way!

Sorry for any confusion. 

 

Mike 

 

As a side note, I continued a little prep and discovered some things that caused me to want a little help with this specimen. When cleaned better, I will post a picture.

Edited July 2, 2022 by minnbuckeye