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gigantoraptor

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Hello all,

 

I already posted this topic in Paleo Re-creations, but nobody answered there.

I want to make a composite skeleton from an extinct animal, but I don't know witch species I take best.

I already tought about Oreodont, cave bear, bison...

Do you guys know an animal whose it is possible to collect all the bones (skull is not necassary, but I would love a real skull)

Keichousaur is not a good example, because I want have the fun for searching, buying and making a composite.

It think mammals are the only option, because reptiles are expensive and difficult to collect all the bones, maybe alligator is possible?

What do you guys think about it?

 

Greetings

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Do be careful about making doubles or even triples of topics-the Forum prefers any information/topic to be concise and not duplicated so as to keep it one place :)

 

That being said, I would caution you on undertaking such a project if the intent is to sell it later on down the line. Most collectors like their specimens to be as original as possible, but on the same token, don't let any of these 'rain on your parade', per say, if you plan to undertake such a task for your personal pleasure :)

 

So to actually answer your topic, I think bison and oreodont would be most feasible with how fairly common their fossils are, but I have also seen mammoth, cave bear, and sloth done as well (usually by big fossil companies that can afford it). It really depends on your aspirations, interests, patience, endurance, and pocketbook :P (unless you can look for a few of your own)

"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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I don't want to sell it and I have enough patience. Do you know a person/shop with a lot of oreodont or bison fossils. I dont find ribs, vertebra, big bones... of oreodont. And no small bones either . I don't find small bones of bison. Any ideas?

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I would contact people from either Oklahoma or Florida for Bison (there's a few groups I know of I can point you to via pm that have members from these states that commonly find them); I also know of a couple people that find plenty of oreodont material.

"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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Pm sent

"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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It might be easier to buy an unprepare  oreodont and prep it.  If you put one together by gathering all the bones, it would be really hard to ID all the bones as being actual oreodont bones.  Ribs and verts of mammals the same size as oreodonts, for example, all look very similar.  Maybe purchase larger parts and pieces... say a leg or a neck... etc.  then put them together.  

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14 hours ago, jpc said:

Maybe purchase larger parts and pieces... say a leg or a neck... etc.  then put them together.  

Yeah, that is a good idea, but I am 15 and live in europe. I can affort large pieces and the shipping costs, but the import costs are extremely expensive. Does somebody have an idea how I can get this on europe a little bit cheaper?

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Being in Europe maybe a cave bear would be the best option to persue? Lot of them from Romania (not sure where in Europe you're from).

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine

"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else."

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For almost ten years now I've been trying to get build a composite skeleton of a woolly rhino. Though it's a fairly common animal. It's still a really hard task. Even now I only have about half of a skeleton.

 

So yeah, choose carefully what you want to make a composite skeleton of. For some types of animals many bones might be really hard to acquire.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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7 hours ago, gigantoraptor said:

Yeah, that is a good idea, but I am 15 and live in europe. I can affort large pieces and the shipping costs, but the import costs are extremely expensive. Does somebody have an idea how I can get this on europe a little bit cheaper?

 

 

I would say that a cave bear would be your best choice for a European extinct animal unless you know someone who can tell you a site where the bones of a smaller animal are common.  There are dealers who sell cave bear skeletons along with isolated teeth and bones.  I would guess that the skeletons are not selling as well as they did in the 90's.  You might be able to work a deal for an incomplete skeleton or even start with a couple of feet that have been already assembled.  You want to start out with something that substantial because you will have less specimens to match up depending on the level of difficulty you want to set for yourself.  Lord Trilobite speaks from experience, 10 years of experience.  At some point you might put together half a skeleton of parts that look like they are the right sizes and proportions for each other but then you have to find the other parts that are also realistic-looking fits for what you already have.  Otherwise, you end up with a situation in which you have a right limb that is visibly too long relative to the left one or maybe one or more vertebrae look out of place after you learned more over time.  You might be able to find a very nice right radius but you might have to wait a long time to find a left one that is close to a mirror-image of it.  You might find a right radius that is in the correct size range but it is in relatively poor condition.  Do you buy that one or wait for a better one?  You will have decisions similar to that to make. 

 

Once you choose the animal, you will need to find at least a couple of good references so you do not simply get an idea of the anatomy but become a self-taught expert.  Of course, it's better if you know someone who can help with cave bears.

 

I once helped a friend build a fossil dugong skeleton.  I was assigned the task of reassembling all the broken pieces of ribs that were collected.  It was a time-consuming project finding the pieces that fit together and then gluing them to achieve smooth contacts.  And that was knowing that I had almost all the pieces already.  It would have been much tougher to go to shows or hunt online for ribs and rib pieces that looked like they might fit together with maybe some sanding to be done to make the fits look better.

 

 

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cave bear question... that is a huge animal... where do you put it when it is done?  This is a serious question.   Unless you live in a European castle, a cave bear will take up a lot
of space.  Are mom and dad ok with this idea?  

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1 hour ago, jpc said:

cave bear question... that is a huge animal... where do you put it when it is done?  This is a serious question.   Unless you live in a European castle, a cave bear will take up a lot
of space.  Are mom and dad ok with this idea?  

No, I don't have enough space for cave bear. Oreodont is oke, and this is my favorite option.

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I wouldn't worry too much about space. I don't really have space for my woolly rhino either. So I just keep it in boxes and occasionally take it out. but gathering so many bones can take a lot of time and in that time a lot can change in terms of living space.

 

I would agree that cave bear would be a really good choice if you're looking for European mega fauna. Other choices for animals that are fairly easy to get would be woolly mammoth, steppe bison or horse. All of those are larger than bears though. But the bones are fairly easy to get.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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Yeah, I know some fossils form the european megafauna, but cave bear, mammoth and woolly rhino are way too expensive to collect all the bones for me. Oreodont is the mammal with I think the cheapest bones, skulls... And the fossils are common in america, so I just need to pay import costs. Horse is an option, but I prefer oreodont. Maybe a replica skull is an option then.

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