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Peat Burns

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I took a trip to Nebraska to collect the White River Formations for the very first time this past summer.  I had two goals: recover a Stylemys and an Oreodont skull.  I found both!  I reported on the prep of the Stylemys in an earlier post on the prep sub-forum.  When I saw the Oreodont, I yelled "Bingo, Oreodont!".  So that's the name I gave the animal.  This post will summarize the discovery, preparation, and reconstruction of the specimen.  The skull was not complete, and only about 25-30% of the animal was present, so with apologies to the "Palaeo Police" :), I decided that this specimen would have a greater contribution as a display piece than sitting in a drawer with other oreodont remains (which are common and numerous).  Also, if any of these bones were later found to be of scientific importance, the procedures used in this reconstruction are reversible ;)

 

THE DISCOVERY

 

Bingo was spotted on the side of a relatively steep butte.  The first thing I saw was the partial skull.  Here it is:

 

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After exclaiming (proclaiming) "Bingo!", I left the skull and immediately went to the base of the butte and started probing and digging in the two washouts that originated in the vicinity of the skull.  These re-worked deposits were yielding lots of bone elements from the posterior to the anterior of the skeleton.  I even managed to recover the brain cast and pieces of the skull that had washed down.  Once the re-worked deposits had been thoroughly searched, I climbed up to the skull and began excavating.  The top of the snout was crushed (predation?).  The brain case area was also fragmented as well as the rear of the jaw.  Some of this was pieced together later from elements found in the spoil at the base of the butte.  I removed the skull via a "soft jacket".

 

Here is what was recovered:

 

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In the jaw was a humerus (gives a whole new meaning to putting one's foot it one's mouth).

 

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So after piecing together and reconstructing the skull and prepping out the other bones from the matrix, this is what I ended up with:

 

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Absolutely amazing find and pictures.

Wish I could have something this good.

Congrats!

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Looks like you did a good job of sorting out whats-what. I'll bet it was a big surprise to find the tibia in its mouth.

So watch, we find out the Oreodonts were the fiercest predators of the Oligocene. Lol

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It was at this point that I thought that if this was a T. rex, there would be enough bone elements to call it an "animal" and give it a name.  It's also when I decided that it would be fun to reconstruct the skeleton for display.  I've always wanted to do that on something that I found.  I began by making casts of the real-bone vertebrae to use to make copies to complete the spine with slight modifications depending on location in the spine.  I used silicone rubber and two-part resin for molding and casting, respectively.

 

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I was also able to find a few pieces of bone from other animals to use in the reconstruction, including a partial scapula that I found (with a partial skull) on the same trip.  I reconstructed the scapula (as well as other elements) using morphometrics / proportional calculations with the aid of a caliper and photos from a specimen at the Smithsonian.  This allowed me to scale the bones to the correct size for my animal.  I used palaeosculp.  Here, I have attached cardstock for the outline of the scapula and placement of the paleosculp.

 

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Many of the elements had to be sculpted completely using photos of actual bones:

 

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I then painted cast and sculpted elements to match the real bone.  Color varied from position on the skeleton.  Proximal elements were more caramel / green.  Distal elements were more caramel / tan / brown/ white.  Once I had all the elements I wanted for the mount, I arranged the bones in the position I wanted in the final mount.

 

 

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I then mixed up an artificial matrix and color-matched it to the actual matrix that I collected from the site.  Here you can see a piece of the original matrix next to the artificial matrix.

 

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Here are some photos of the application of the artificial matrix:

 

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And here, more or less, the final product.  I have made the skull removable for study.  I also need to do some final prep on the skull and a little more color matching on the ribs, etc.  But more or less this is how it will look.  Thank you VERY MUCH to @Nimravis and @jpc for kindly supplying photos and plates of individual elements to help in the reconstruction!  The specimen is about 4 feet long.

 

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That’s amazing, you’re doing a great job!  The original find was impressive, and this looks even better.

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And here is a "bone map" showing real bone from "Bingo", real bones from other animals, cast bones made from real bone, and sculpted bones.  Thank you for looking!

 

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I'm awestruck. I had to call my wife over to the computer to show her one reason I spend so much time here on the forum. Amazing work!

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Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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Outstanding effort and result!

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Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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This is a brilliant thread even by the high standards of The Fossil Forum! 

Great find, wonderful photos, a terrific idea and story and what a superb reconstruction. 

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. :)

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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This is one of the most interesting things I have read in a long time. You Deserve a lot of credit with the work you put in to achieve this reconstruction! Super cool!

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Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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A beautiful and very scientific reconstruction! Not just anyone can do this. Thanks for posting! 

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2 hours ago, DatFossilBoy said:

Absolutely amazing find and pictures.

Wish I could have something this good.

Congrats!

 

1 hour ago, caldigger said:

Cant wait to see Bingo in its entirety. 

 

1 hour ago, Sagebrush Steve said:

That’s amazing, you’re doing a great job!  The original find was impressive, and this looks even better.

 

1 hour ago, Pagurus said:

I'm awestruck. I had to call my wife over to the computer to show her one reason I spend so much time here on the forum. Amazing work!

 

1 hour ago, snolly50 said:

Outstanding effort and result!

 

1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

This is a brilliant thread even by the high standards of The Fossil Forum! 

Great find, wonderful photos, a terrific idea and story and what a superb reconstruction. 

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. :)

 

59 minutes ago, Fruitbat said:

Very nicely done!  

 

-Joe

 

40 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

This is one of the most interesting things I have read in a long time. You Deserve a lot of credit with the work you put in to achieve this reconstruction! Super cool!

 

18 minutes ago, Heteromorph said:

A beautiful and very scientific reconstruction! Not just anyone can do this. Thanks for posting! 

Thank you!  You guys *LITERALLY* made my day.  I respect all of your opinions and very much appreciate your affirmation of the results.  As I've said before, it's great to be able to share with folks who have a genuine and deep appreciation for palaeontology.  Thanks again.

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This is absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing this entire process from in situ to this remarkable result... The amount of time and skill involved, from casting to sculpting to placement - just, unbelievably wow!!

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Great project with fantastic results! Now I know what you were doing during the cold winter months :) That must have taken up a bucket full of time!

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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An amazing find and an even cooler preparation! The tibia in the jaw was especially cool to me!

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“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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