Jump to content

Miocene Pea Crab Preparation


DarasFossils

Recommended Posts

Hello, I am new to fossil preparation but I bought one of those Miocene Crab concretions, but I am not sure how to separate the rock without damaging the crab inside. I only have dental tools and chisels, but they are not enough to separate the two sides for a pos/neg display that I could like. What sorts of tools could I use for the job? It is something similar to the picture below.

crab-fossil-decapoda-F01WPE.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  To split a crab concretion where you end up with a crab on one side and the impression of the crab on the other is just about impossible.  I've popped open thousands and Im not sure if I've seen that?  At least not perfectly.  Best option for such a small crab is microscope and mini scribe and lots of prep time.  Best of luck

 

RB

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, RJB said:

  To split a crab concretion where you end up with a crab on one side and the impression of the crab on the other is just about impossible.  I've popped open thousands and Im not sure if I've seen that?  At least not perfectly.  Best option for such a small crab is microscope and mini scribe and lots of prep time.  Best of luck

 

RB

Thank you! I don't expect it to be perfect, but the one they showed me at the shop was so compressed I didn't think it would carve and they suggested I split it. I'm too scared to hit it with a hammer though! I'm planning on buying an air scribe soon so I may just try that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this is really not a California pea crab.  You could take an exacto knife (one of the pointly ended ones) and hit it softly with a chisel to remove the matrix around the crab.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 11/25/2022 at 7:35 AM, crabfossilsteve said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this is really not a California pea crab.  You could take an exacto knife (one of the pointly ended ones) and hit it softly with a chisel to remove the matrix around the crab.

I know this thread is old, but I realized I missed your message. I do not have a picture of the crab itself because it is still incased in the rock, so I chose one online that looked similar to what I expected in terms of the rock splitting but I don't think that picture is a pea crab either though I believe mine is. I'll try a chisel and an old exacto knife! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...