Bone guy Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Hi all. First off it's a dream of mine to one day have a skull from a xiphactinus audax. I have here a xiphactinus skull, but as you can see it is heavily disarticulated. Would it be a bad or good idea to try and have this skull professionally restored? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 A Cretaceous jigsaw puzzle. I would be afraid I'd break it. Hopefully all the parts are there if that's what you decide to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 That's what I was thinking since I'd imagine those bones are fragile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 You forgot the adjective "very" in front of fragile. Let's see what others views in this are. Hey @Ptychodus04 !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I like the way it looks right now- I would not do anything to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I would expect this to be a job for an experienced prepper. Definitely not a good choice for a first prep. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 4 hours ago, caldigger said: You forgot the adjective "very" in front of fragile. Let's see what others views in this are. Hey @Ptychodus04 !!! Thanks for the tag @caldigger. @Bone guy, that is a beautiful piece as it currently is. It is possible to have the bones removed from the matrix and mounted. It would be quite an undertaking. Is it worth doing? That’s a very subjective question. If you think so, then yes it is worth it. Personally, I would leave as is and enjoy the Picasso-ish feel to it. Save your $$ and buy an articulated skull eventually. That being said, if you want to explore restoration further, feel free to send me a PM. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Since you are saying having it prepped professionally, then yes, I think it would definitely be worth it. It looks quite nice like it is. But a reconstructed skull could be even nicer. And having the bones out of the matrix can also make the piece more informative in terms of anatomy as more of the animal is visible. If you decide on taking it out of the matrix, be sure to take lots of photos before that happens so you have a record of how it looked. In fact, you could go even further and use photogrammetry to make a scan so you have a digital version of the fossil as it is now forever. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I would clean the area around the teeth and fully expose any that have matrix around them. I think other than that it looks great and would not touch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thanks for the recommendations guys. I think I'm going to pass on this one....it feels like the objective of restoration is a huge gamble so I would rather save for an already articulated skull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatinformationist Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 X-ray first, then forward based on new knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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