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Kenzicocapontas

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Hello everyone, new member here!

 

We recently started boxing up my childhood home to ready it for a sale and I discovered a long forgotten box that had a few fossils that my grandmother obtained during her ongoing 91 years on this earth. Almost all I believe were obtained by digs she went on around North America and chances are she obtained this one in the midwest. Most had tags like fish, mammoth tusk shard, and part of a deer jaw. I couldn't find an ID for this one, and upon asking my grandmother she hasn't the faintest idea because it's been decades and her mental state is slipping. If you need any more pictures of any sides let me know, my hand is only there to hold the two halves together, because unfortunately it hasn't survived in one whole piece. It measures about 160 mm. Another clue, but she did majority of her digs in Nebraska I believe. I'll have to Split up my posts with the pictures, I apologize. 

 

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4 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

Looks like a oreodont skull to me but wait for others with a lot more knowledge than me.

Oh wow it does! I didn't even think of that (granted my knowledge on the subject is super low, firefighter with a Theatre degree). 

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1 minute ago, Kenzicocapontas said:

Oh wow it does! I didn't even think of that (granted my knowledge on the subject is super low, firefighter with a Theatre degree). 

It really is a nice skull indeed. There will be some experts around in a bit to help . Great job you do and I am also very interested in the theatre . Welcome to the TFF from Leicestershire Uk. Cheers Bobby 

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4 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

Are you going to repair it? It looks like it displays nicely.

I would love to, do you guys have any tips on how to do so without ruining its integrity? I wish my grandmother hadn't entrusted such precious items to rascally young children. :ighappy:

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It looks like it just needs glueing to me with superglue. I would use a thick superglue and don’t use to much. Too much glue will keep the bone apart. Also glue only in the centre of the bone it stops it ruining out the sides. If you are going to repair it we can call my freind to this post he has great advice.

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Good news then because I have a little bottle of loctite superglue at home. I'll give it a shot when I get back tonight. Thank you so much for your help! I need to figure out how to display this safely. 

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Yes, this is an Oreodont skull. By its size I’d say it’s a Merycoidodon culbertsoni from the White River Formations. This is found in Nebraska as well as Wyoming and South Dakota. Nice skull.  

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10 minutes ago, Kenzicocapontas said:

Good news then because I have a little bottle of loctite superglue at home. I'll give it a shot when I get back tonight. Thank you so much for your help! I need to figure out how to display this safely. 

Let’s call an expert at repairing and prepping of fossil more better advice the better.  @Ptychodus04 

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I agree that it is an oreodont-- a mature animal. It's what I call a " DBC" - for "Done Been Chawed" -- it has numerous  visible predator bites .Most of the oreodonts I find do; they were grazing animals, and likely easy prey. It appears that some considerable prep has already been done--very little matrix left, and the teeth are pretty clean. It also looks as though it has been sprayed with a clear coating-- maybe acrylic?

Barby

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43 minutes ago, Barby said:

I agree that it is an oreodont-- a mature animal. It's what I call a " DBC" - for "Done Been Chawed" -- it has numerous  visible predator bites .Most of the oreodonts I find do; they were grazing animals, and likely easy prey. It appears that some considerable prep has already been done--very little matrix left, and the teeth are pretty clean. It also looks as though it has been sprayed with a clear coating-- maybe acrylic?

Barby

I never even thought of those as predator bites... gawdang thats cool

 

Whatever coat it is, it's definitely thin so I can't really tell.

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Really nice piece.

Grandma done good.

Hello, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. :) 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Really nice piece.

Grandma done good.

Hello, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. :) 

My grandma is such a badass, next time I see her I'll pick her brain. I kinda want to get into this on the side.

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Thanks for the tag @Bobby Rico

 

@Kenzicocapontas, do the two pieces fit together tightly, or is there a bit of a gap? If they fit tight, you can use thin cyanoacrylate  glue. If there’s a bit of a gap, I would use the “gel” variety to ensure good coverage. With cyanoacrylates, less is more. Too much glue and it takes forever to cure. You can always drop more into the crack if you need to adjust the bonding surface.

 

On the coating, of you want to remove it, acetone dissolves just about everything. Dip a toothbrush into the acetone and scrub away, wiping off the dissolved coating and extra acetone.

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6 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Thanks for the tag @Bobby Rico

 

@Kenzicocapontas, do the two pieces fit together tightly, or is there a bit of a gap? If they fit tight, you can use thin cyanoacrylate  glue. If there’s a bit of a gap, I would use the “gel” variety to ensure good coverage. With cyanoacrylates, less is more. Too much glue and it takes forever to cure. You can always drop more into the crack if you need to adjust the bonding surface.

 

On the coating, of you want to remove it, acetone dissolves just about everything. Dip a toothbrush into the acetone and scrub away, wiping off the dissolved coating and extra acetone.

There's hardly any gap, its pretty flush. I have never heard of that stuff, good tip good tip. I think I'll probably leave the coating as it is, I would probably end up up the whole thing haha.

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37 minutes ago, Kenzicocapontas said:

There's hardly any gap, its pretty flush. I have never heard of that stuff, good tip good tip. I think I'll probably leave the coating as it is, I would probably end up up the whole thing haha.

Cyanoacrylate is the generic name for “super glue”

 

good luck with it.

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4 hours ago, Kenzicocapontas said:

firefighter with a Theatre degree. 

An obvious transition! :P

 

 

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1 hour ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Cyanoacrylate is the generic name for “super glue”

 

good luck with it.

Whew, I feel like a real blonde after that one.

51 minutes ago, caldigger said:

An obvious transition! :P

Hahaha, I'm handy when doing mock "patient assessments"

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Hi again!

I just went back on your site---having a bit of trouble navigating all the cool info on the FF.

ANYWAY:

The 2 separate pieces you have--the cranium (back piece), and the upper skull DO fit together tightly , as nature intended--but super glue will only attach the two pieces--it won't secure them enough for handling. I have had success with drilling a SMALL hole in the underside of each section, and cutting a piece of stiff wire to slip into the holes on each piece. (I've even used thin nails with the heads snapped off--). Once you have juggled the 2 sections to a good fit with the wire--IMPORTANT-- super glue the wire into one side only at first. When that is completely dry , put a drop of super glue in the other wire hole, and a bit on the surface of the cranium section , slide the wire into the second hole , adjust the back of the skull to the front accurately, firmly--and QUICKLY.

This is tedious work, but well worth it--somebody is gonna pick this skull up sooner or later, and boom!

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1)  Yes, Merycoidodon culbertsoni from the White River Fm of either NE or WY.  Most SD specimens have a red tint to them.  

2)  A dab of thick superglue should do fine.  I glue things with superglue all the time and rarely have I had any bonds fail.  

 

I have also glued things together using the wire joint method mentioned above.  It can be very difficult to line things up correctly.  I don't think it is needed for an oreodont skull with great fit.  

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