Macrophyseter Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 This was a prep I've last year, but for some reason I've never posted it on the forum. So I thought I might change that. Last year I was fortunate enough to take a visit to the Ernst Quarries and dig for some shark teeth. Although most of the fossil I've taken home are either bones, four partial regular-sized teeth, and mostly tiny partials (some of which I accidentally damaged while digging ), the biggest find of the day was this large Cosmopolitodus hastalis tooth with its crown partially sticking out of the matrix. When Rob noticed the tooth, he initially estimated it to be ~2 inches long and insisted that I keep the tooth in the matrix, saying something like "The tooth itself is worth about $15. If you keep the tooth in the matrix, it'll be worth $60". Although my reason for visiting the Ernst Quarries was to find shark teeth to keep rather than to sell, I for some reason decided to keep the tooth in the matrix. However, I still had to prep this baby when I got home! Below is the tooth how I found it. This was going to be my first (and so far only considerate) prep I've ever done. Rob told me that the matrix can easily be scratched away using a fingernail and so taking his words and some advice I've gotten from the forum regarding something else, I grabbed one of my mom's needles and started quite literally digging off the siltstone. After around 10 minutes, a perfect root base showed up. This tooth is obviously going to be a perfect whole, so you just gotta keep scraping off the matrix. One really helpful thing I've realized at this point is that the needle I was using was perfect for such beginner's prep- it was strong enough to remove matrix effectively but not enough to do any damage to the tooth itself. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 Sure enough, I was right about the tooth being a perfect complete. At this point, I was readily able to measure the tooth with a slant height of 1.75 inches (alas, Rob overestimated by a quarter of an inch, maybe he was thinking of a larger root from a lower or a lateral). Here's the initial finished product of the tooth in its fossil matrix. A beautiful hear-shaped anterior, this one was defiantly going in my cabinet. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 However, after about 6 months, I decided that I needed to prep more. This time I focused on flattening the giant mountain directly left of the tooth, as well as prepping out the bone on the opposite corner of the tooth. During the prep, I've found two smaller shark teeth (A tiger and a mako) but alas, I accidentally popped then out and broke one of them. Here's the final product of the prep as it is now. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
caldigger Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Just to clarify, it was Rob you talked to. Bob was his father who passed away some years back. Good job on your first prep. I would say I have done my share of them also. If you haven't done so already, I would recommend you put a consolidant on the matrix up to the edge of the tooth, otherwise your big guy is liable to pop off too. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Manticocerasman Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 just for info: the name Cosmopolitodus hastalis recently changed to Carcharodon hastalis. It is not the first time it had its taxon revieuwd, before C. hastalis it was Isurus hastalis. Taxonomy is a funny thing and nice preppjob 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 9 hours ago, Manticocerasman said: just for info: the name Cosmopolitodus hastalis recently changed to Carcharodon hastalis. It is not the first time it had its taxon revieuwd, before C. hastalis it was Isurus hastalis. Taxonomy is a funny thing and nice preppjob Thanks However, I would disagree with your correction. As far as I know, the two genera are still disputed, and it seems that Cosmopolitodus is still used more often and agreed on since Ehret el al. (2012). While I don't mind the usage of any of the alternative disputed taxons, I believe that it would be incorrect to name the others outdated. But I do agree that taxonomy is a very funny thing, especially when people can't seem to agree on some nitty-bitty bit of a name... for decades. I mean, Mikael Siverson remarked himself how he and his colleagues can't stop arguing over something as minor as a single letter (Cretolamna vs Cretalamna), for over 20 years. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 10 hours ago, caldigger said: Just to clarify, it was Rob you talked to. Bob was his father who passed away some years back. Thanks for the clarification. 10 hours ago, caldigger said: If you haven't done so already, I would recommend you put a consolidant on the matrix up to the edge of the tooth, otherwise your big guy is liable to pop off too. I originally considered doing this, but I still want to keep the possibilty to taking the tooth out of the matrix. But so far the matrix seems secure enough to stay intact without consolidant. Link to post Share on other sites
jpc Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Nice one. I also like these things better in the matrix. I was out there about 8 years ago (really.. has it been that long?) and have a pile of bones and teeth form there. Link to post Share on other sites
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