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Mosasaur prep, jaw section


snolly50

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1 hour ago, snolly50 said:

Part 7, a singular inclusion 

 

Several obvious inclusions were recovered during prep efforts. In addition the waste matrix was reduced in water in an effort to obtain smaller inclusions. One of the more curious finds is shown below. The "pointy" end emerged from the matrix and being noticed, an effort was made to extract the entire piece. Unfortunately, it broke into three pieces. This suggestively shaped object appears as one might imagine a coprolite. The surface is marked with striae. The larger grouping of these parallel depressions may be seem in the image depicting the entire object. The other images show close-ups of markings in other areas. The surface that is not marked appears very smooth. The entire piece is 1 4/16 inches at its longest. Opinions are sought from members, @GeschWhat with coprolite expertise. 

 

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WOW! I'm assuming you did not put the gashes in this. I believe you not only have a coprolite, but a really cool one with feeding traces! This was in Moroccan matrix?  :envy:

 

EDIT: I just went back and read the entire thread. WOW again! Another fun feature of this coprolite is that it appears to have wrinkle marks in the curve area. You can almost see it hitting the ocean floor. :D

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Terrific and informative thread! 

Lillian is lovely. :wub:

If she ever gets homesick and needs a holiday, you know where I am..............

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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

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24 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Terrific and informative thread! 

Lillian is lovely. :wub:

If she ever gets homesick and needs a holiday, you know where I am..........

Thank you. Lillian says, after her long journey to reach SC, she believes she will stay put awhile.

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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40 minutes ago, GeschWhat said:

I believe you not only have a coprolite, but a really cool one

Thank you very much. I am very pleased to receive a considered opinion that confirms my suspicions. I also recovered a smaller (1/2 inch) fragment, which seems to be the pointy end of a similar piece. Unfortunately, the rest was not found. This piece also displays a patch of striation. Apologies for the poor, hastily made image.

 

DSC_7345acz.thumb.jpg.06386c1216682a77027d1d270e2e5c93.jpg

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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Are there tooth marks on that piece as well (the striations)? I couldn't tell anything from the photos, but where there feeding traces on the jaw? Most of the coprolites from Morocco that I have in my collection are spirals, many of which are quite beautiful. It makes me wonder if most coprolites found are just discarded. I might have to see if I can get some junk bone in matrix at the next gem show just so I can do some excavating. :D

 

From the photo this looks like a perfect little spiral coprolite. What was it?

Spiral.jpg

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45 minutes ago, GeschWhat said:

From the photo this looks like a perfect little spiral coprolite.

No, that was a very thin, round bone; which did not survive my effort to free it. The loose bone in the matrix proved to be almost as friable as the matrix itself. I had the idea the the striations, "ripples," etc.; that is, the general topography of coprolites was sometimes dictated by the donor creatures internal, alimentary tract shape. I don't know why I thought that. Is there any truth to that concept?

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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22 minutes ago, Bone guy said:

I think Lillian's cause of death was feces ingestion

I have an alternate hypothesis. Look at the image of the finished fossil and note the position of the second tooth from the left and the disturbed bone beneath it. While Lillian was a gigantic Mosasaur, was she done in by an even larger sea monster? It is easy to imagine a huge assailant's tooth shattering the mandible from beneath and pushing that tooth upward.

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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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24 minutes ago, snolly50 said:

No, that was a very thin, round bone; which did not survive my effort to free it. The loose bone in the matrix proved to be almost as friable as the matrix itself. I had the idea the the striations, "ripples," etc.; that is, the general topography of coprolites was sometimes dictated by the donor creatures internal, alimentary tract shape. I don't know why I thought that. Is there any truth to that concept?

It can be. There are coprolites with longitudinal striations, other evidence of intestinal folds, packing and muscle marks. Spiral and scroll coprolites definitely reflect the shape of the spiral valve. When I see ripples or folding in a curved/bent area, I generally attribute that to the landing. ;)

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53 minutes ago, GeschWhat said:

striations, other evidence of intestinal folds, packing and muscle marks. Spiral and scroll coprolites definitely reflect the shape of the spiral valve. When I see ripples or folding in a curved/bent area, I generally attribute that to the landing

Lori, you are a hoot!  And this song is for you!

 

 

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Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury
 

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On 7/22/2018 at 3:04 PM, snolly50 said:

Part 6, finished

 

Here is the finished fossil. Future efforts will include designing an appropriate stand and exploration and ID of some of the small fossils uncovered in the matrix. I hope this exercise in some small way will encourage others to undertake rewarding preparation work. The granular, sandy matrix of these Moroccan pieces is friable, easily worked. It is my believe that they make ideal projects for the novice prepper.

 

Left mandible, lingual aspect

Prognathodon sp

Maastrichtian

3rd phosphate layer

Oued Zen, Morocco

 

Her name is, Lillian.

 

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  You were right ... that is one fantastic looking lizard you have there !! ... Wow, great prep, gonna love to see what you do with the mount.  You have good taste. One of these days when my house becomes less of a storage closet and more of a home that I can spend some time decorating I'd love to tackle some prep work. 

 

Cheers,

Brett

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Excellent job, Snolly. You seem to have thought of practically everything on the way to keep your treasure intact. Well done! So you got started on it in December and just got it finished recently, or did you just wait a bit longer before posting your report?

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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9 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

So you got started on it in December and just got it finished recently, or did you just wait a bit longer before posting your report?

Thanks for the kind words, Roger. Not long after it arrived I made the support and cushion for the piece. This was so I could easily move it from indoors to out. Bring Winter when it arrived, the weather was not optimal for outdoor work; but I was able to perform the clean-up work on the already exposed bone. That being done, the piece languished on its soft cushion, untouched for a while. Actually, the weather became nice enough long before I restarted work in earnest. Other projects and obligations arose. However the lapse was a positive, as it served as a period to consolidate my ideas as to how the piece should be prepped. Once work restarted, the project was completed in two or three weeks, working at a leisurely pace. So, it has just been finished; but I had a long slothful stretch in the interval between December and now.

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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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On 7/28/2018 at 1:16 PM, snolly50 said:

Thanks for the kind words, Roger. Not long after it arrived I made the support and cushion for the piece. This was so I could easily move it from indoors to out. Bring Winter when it arrived, the weather was not optimal for outdoor work; but I was able to perform the clean-up work on the already exposed bone. That being done, the piece languished on its soft cushion, untouched for a while. Actually, the weather became nice enough long before I restarted work in earnest. Other projects and obligations arose. However the lapse was a positive, as it served as a period to consolidate my ideas as to how the piece should be prepped. Once work restarted, the project was completed in two or three weeks, working at a leisurely pace. So, it has just been finished; but I had a long slothful stretch in the interval between December and now.

My projects tend to languish also. :P

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Part 8, more inclusions, Yikes! and a mystery

 

I was pretty pleased that the jaw section prep had been pulled off without any major mishap. Well, don't get too cocky or the fossil gods will endeavor to make you humble once more!

 

In processing the waste matrix I found a few tiny teeth (the holder in the photo is 1 1/4" square). Seeking to photograph them for posting, I took them on the deck for some bright sun. In an effort to make a better photo I placed the opened case on a sheet of plain white paper. This conveniently rested on a table with a metal mesh top. I was happily snapping away when a gust of wind caught the paper and flipped it, upending the tiny case. Of course the teeth fell through the table's mesh top onto the deck's surface. The three smaller pieces disappearing via the spaces between the deck's boards. Only the larger tooth was recovered. Yes, I scrambled under the deck to look! Here is the only extant record. Does anyone recognize these tiny Moroccan teeth? 

 

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Now the mystery piece. What is it? This little rectangular shard of bone (about 1/2 as thick as it is long) displays an odd pattern on one surface. Could the roughly oval sections be the sockets for a battery of grinding teeth? Does anyone recognize it? 

 

DSC_7323acz.thumb.jpg.cc9155f4d33015d767314092814bc58c.jpg

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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On 8/2/2018 at 6:44 PM, snolly50 said:

Now the mystery piece. What is it? This little rectangular shard of bone (about 1/2 as thick as it is long) displays an odd pattern on one surface. Could the roughly oval sections be the sockets for a battery of grinding teeth? Does anyone recognize it? 

 

DSC_7323acz.thumb.jpg.cc9155f4d33015d767314092814bc58c.jpg

This is a fragment of a Stratodus apicalis jaw.

1920px-Stratodus_DB12.jpg

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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4 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

This is a fragment of a Stratodus apicalis jaw.

Thank you so much for the ID of the small fossil. Below is a link to a brief article, I found helpful. I was ignorant as to the existence of this creature. Your ID enabled me to become a little more informed. Now I am wondering if the tiny, slender tooth shards I am encountering in the matrix are from the same donor species. 

 

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratodus

 

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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  • 1 year later...

That's one cool thread. I've been blessed enough to find a variety of mosasaur, statodus and coprolite so I really enjoyed watching your prep job. 

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