What Am I Supposed To Do With This Megafauna Skeleton?!

[Beekeeper]

I've found a bison antiquus skeleton on the family farm. I'm not sure how much of it is still there since I've only excavated a couple of legs, but I can see the edges of more bones in the surrounding matrix. It will probably take a few months to finish digging it up. I'm not sure what to do with it, but I would like to either keep it as a personal treasure or perhaps find a place willing to display it in a protected environment. I'm not interested in selling it. If anyone has any advice for storing, cleaning, skeletal re-assemby, and reaching out to museums or schools I would greatly appreciate it. Any other comments are welcome too, as I clearly am not versed in the science beyond a layman's understanding! I am making a video and taking pics as I go along and I'll post it on this board once the project is complete. Thanks to all of you who contribute to this site, I've learned a lot and look forward to sharing my find of a lifetime.

[Scylla]

OK, OK, I'll take it

[aqua]

"So I just happenned to stumble across a FULL SKELETAL FOSSIL"

(falls over in dead faint)

[Xiphactinus]

Beekeeper -

nice find. Articulated skeletons are special.

Are you sure it's a B. antiquus? If you've only exposed a couple of legs, I'm not sure there is enough diagnostic material there to differentiate B. bison, B antiquus, or even a cow....

[bmorefossil]

Be sure to identify each bone you find and take pictures accordingly so in the end it will be easier to assemble. Hopefully this helps.

[Beekeeper]

Beekeeper -

nice find. Articulated skeletons are special.

Are you sure it's a B. antiquus? If you've only exposed a couple of legs, I'm not sure there is enough diagnostic material there to differentiate B. bison, B antiquus, or even a cow....

I took two ulna and tibia to the paleo lab at the Universty of Texas and I'm going by what they told me there.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Beekeeper

[Xiphactinus]

I took two ulna and tibia to the peleo lab at the Universty of Texas and I'm going by what they told me there.

Cool! They should know! I didn't know those bones were diagnostic enough, other than being big.

[sward]

Fascinating discovery. Please be sure to take lots of pics as you progress so we can follow your adventure.

Was the UT not interested in assisting in your find?

I know there's some very knowledgeable members in your area that may be able to assist in hooking you up with some museums that may be interested.

Keep us posted.

Edited October 26, 2013 by sward

[hrguy54]

Very exciting!!! I hope you can share with lots of pictures.