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A Story, Of An Urban Excavation Of A Fossil Gray Whale Named Raquel


PRK

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Great story and amazing specimen. I especially loved seeing all of the old photos and hearing how the community came together to support and observe the project. Hope the saga has a happy ending with the whale eventually being fully prepped and put on display.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A fine example of an interesting and unusual limpet from the Pleistocene shell layer just above the whale fossil. The same fossil rich layer that produced the great white shark teeth figured previously

This species still exists along the pacific coast of the US. But is quickly becoming increasingly less common, and that is why I don't collect recent specimens of any kind. I prefer to preserve the past for the future.

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A fine example of an interesting and unusual limpet from the Pleistocene shell layer just above the whale fossil. The same fossil rich layer that produced the great white shark teeth figured previously

This species still exists along the pacific coast of the US. But is quickly becoming increasingly less common, and that is why I don't collect recent specimens of any kind. I prefer to preserve the past for the future.

Yikes, that is a big limpet! Regards, Chris

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Hi chris - Known as "THE GREAT KEYHOLE LIMPET" of the genus Megathura, and is one of the largest limpets in the world. This Pleistocene specimen is a lovely and complete example of only medium size. This variety gets MUCH larger

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  • 1 month later...

Here is an update picture of the prepared articulated vertebral column, with the left radius and ulna still in situ

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  • 2 weeks later...

A color pic and different angle of the finished pleistocene eschrichtius, 8.5 foot skull, as prepared dorsally and still on its original jacket frame

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  • 1 month later...

And a pic of the semi prepared, left humerus. A prepared version of the buried humerus shown underneath the scapula shown in post #31. and weighed approx 45 pounds

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Maybe i missed it but I see where when they were excavating this pit that they sheared off the back part of the whale, but where you ever able to locate this?

" This comment brought to you by the semi-famous AeroMike"

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Hi mike, and thanks for your interest

Firstly, unless these bones are/were excavated carefully and properly they will disintegrate into crumbs when disturbed.

And secondly, no one had any idea where this VERY small percentage of fossil containing dirt was dumped. There are a myriad of fill dirt dump sites in LA.

So to answer your question---- no!

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  • 4 months later...

Finally got a pic of the fish that was preserved directly on the bone of the underside of the scapula, and there is much debate just how this unusual association may have come about. It was relatively 3-D perfect when found, including the caudal(tail) fin. And sorry to say, the fish is quite deteriorated now due 40 years of misshandeling, and improper preservation techniques.

As I recall, it was identified as some sort of a codfish

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Finally got a pic of the fish that was preserved directly on the bone of the underside of the scapula. it was relatively 3-D perfect when found, and sorry to say is quite deteriorated now due 40 years of misshandeling, and improper preservation techniques

As I recall, it was identified as some sort of a codfish

The matrix for this fish fossil is a fossil scapula?! Great Googly Moogly!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Bobby, PRK,

I saw a documentary that showed killer whales attack a whale and her calf. They killed the calf but ate only the tongue and at least part of the lower jaw. I remember reading elsewhere about them always going for the tongue. This preference would only add to the rarity of finding lowers with the skull.

I think killer whales date back only to the Late Miocene or Pliocene as well.

PRK, I read this thread when it was in its early stages but just got around to reading it all now. It's a great story well told and it was nice of you to honor those who have passed. Howell Thomas is still active. I believe Mary Odano is still running her company. A couple of months ago, I was told Joe Cocke was writing another book. Did you know Joe Arndt and Arch Warne? Joe is retired and still keeping up with sharks. Arch Warne passed away several years ago.

Naming it Raquel...a little before my time but I get it.

Also, in case you don't know, Bruce Welton names you and three other people as the collectors and donors of the holotype, paratype, and referred material in his 2013 description of a basking shark from the Keasey Formation, Columbia County, Oregon. He does not note when it was found but I assume it was in the 70's or early 80's before he moved to Texas. Congratulations on that.

Welton named a fossil shark after Applegate this year.

Jess .

It's actually fairly common for mandibles to be absent from whale fossils - they are the first element to be lost from a floating carcass. They are elongate, and already adjacent to an easily decomposed mucus membrane, and due to their length, bob up and down causing tensile damage at the jaw joint, hastening their disarticulation. Since they are too large for any scavenger to really move, in a case like this, it's almost certainly ascribable to decomposition in the water column, rather than scavenging at the sea floor.

Also, those grooves along the palate are actually formed by arteries which "feed" the gingival epithelial tissues which produce the keratinous baleen tissue.

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Yes, I've known joe C., Bruce W., and Mary, since the whale project. In fact I've been working closely with both Joe AND Bruce for the last couple years, supplying them with fossil material for study. They are both putting out large and informative publications by the end of the year. Maybe sooner!

Mary has been retired from running her company for several years now, although she still keeps her hands on as an overseer/advisor capacity. Her company makes great reproductions.

Sorry but im not familiar with the other gents you mention. I'm pretty sure i was up north by then.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Truly a great and informative story! The photos were of great contribution to the content as well!

I eagerly await for any updates as they come :D

PRK, your storytelling is captivating-I should like to hear more of your stories :)

"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."
-Romans 14:19

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  • 11 months later...

Hey PKR,

That is quite a story and an awesome find! Must have been an excellent time. Thank You For the post.

Are there any further updates on "Raquel"?

Tony

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hi reptag--- the fish is not inside the bone. It is impressed on the outside of the large flat scapula, as if the fish was living in a cavern underneath the scapula, which collapsed onto the fish

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That makes a lot more sense.Thanks for taking the time to write this all out. Also, so one of the best grey whale fossils are sitting somewhere unknown due to them being bulldozed away correct? If someone found whale fossils that represent the missing pieces would it be possible to prove they were the same whale? As in could the missing bones of found be proven related?

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  • 1 month later...

Wow, what an amazing experience! Congratulations on your amazing discovery, you should be very proud. Such an awesome event! :)

"Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you" Job 12:8

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  • 8 months later...

PRK-

Just finished reading the whole thread- Great story and unbelievable photo documentation from a time before cell phone cameras. I would have loved to have been a part of your team during the recovery process of Raquel. Congrats.

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