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Typical Chalk Mosasaur


Ramo

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Back when I first started fossil hunting, I researched all I could find for stuff around my area.  I went to museums, and looked at a ton of pictures.  What I found were awesome complete mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, fish, etc.  I went out expecting to find something like that.  What I found were scattered pieces and parts of stuff.  I had no idea that most of these awesome finds I saw in museums were not dug up looking exactly how they looked on the museum wall.  The fact is, was most of these things we see in museums are from individuals scattered along a big area, made up of at least some "reconstructed" parts, and often from more than one individual. 

Last summer my wife and I were fortunate enough to find what I call a "typical" mosasaur eroding out of a chalk wall.  What it consisted of were a few scattered broken bones, and when we dug back into the bank a few articulate verts.  There was some "root rot" going on, and we decided to expose the bones, pour a plaster jacket on them and extract them this way.  They were way to fragile to try and remove individually.  

When I got them home, I decided to make a mount showing how they were found and tried to capture the excitement of the find.

Here is the slab after cleaning down to the bones and plaster.  Sitting loosely on the slab are some of the bones we found as float on the ground.

121.jpg

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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Here is the slab  almost completely cleaned.  The chalk is very soft.  All I used was a dental pick, tooth brush, water, and sponge.

122.jpg

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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Here is the completed mount.  All the articulate verts are exactly as found.  I plastered a couple of the loose ones, and a paddle bone into an area that had no fossils.  I attached an actual brush and scraper used to dig it up, and a small bag with the date on it with some tiny scraps.   No burlap was used in the excavation, but I used some around the plaster to make the mount look nicer. I added a frame with glass.

The piece of bone next to the brush has a squalicorax shark tooth next to it, as it was found.

 

I started this saying it was a "typical" mosasaur find.  Actually it was much more than typical for me.  It is actually one of the nicest pieces of mosasaur I have in my collection.  

Its not the quality or rarity that makes it so cool to me.  My wife actually found this fossil.  A great friend helped to dig it up.

This mount is a reminder of a warm fall day in the badlands of western Kansas on a fossil hunting adventure with my wife and a great friend. 

That makes this find priceless to me.

337.jpg

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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This shows a little more detail.

338.jpg

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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Ramo, 

What a great idea!  

I love the presentation - fantastic find and wonderful display!   :wub: 

Thanks for posting it.

Regards,

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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Hi,

 

Nice fossil, good prep, and very good idea to put tools with it ! That gives a vague atmosphere of the first discoverers of fossils...

 

Coco

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If that were to be found a couple of million years from now,mosasaur paleobiology might get a weird reinterpretation:dinosmile::D

A matter of taste: to me the tools look weird in there

OTHERWISE: nice bit of work,kudos,hatsoff,brassband,and congressional medals are in order

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, Ramo said:

Its not the quality or rarity that makes it so cool to me.  My wife actually found this fossil.  A great friend helped to dig it up.

This mount is a reminder of a warm fall day in the badlands of western Kansas on a fossil hunting adventure with my wife and a great friend. 

That makes this find priceless to me.

 

This is the essence of fossil collecting for me. My fossil collection may not be the biggest nor most complete--but then that is not the aim of my collection. I can walk around my house and see the few pieces I've saved from various collecting trips and recall numerous adventures out in the field hunting for something I've never found before. One day I'll get to the badlands and then I'll (hopefully) have something nice to remind me of that trip. As the specimens I keep serve as reminders of my trips, I really like your shadowbox idea of presenting your find with the tools used.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Very good report and to agree with FossilDudeCo, I love the way you left some tools in there.  Looks like your still at the dig site.

 

RB

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That's awesome!! Looking at it, I feel the warm Kansas sun on my back, the wind in my hair, can hear the grass rustling and smell that unique earthy smell of freshly exposed chalk. Love it!!!  Makes me long for W. Kansas.....

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Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

 Over 70 here in Kansas today.  I may have to venture out soon!

 

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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